Missing Pirates
by Ligthingtooth
Summary: for a whole year the great space Pirates have been missing. Only one grea pirate reamines with his crew. Can He find out here his friends and Famaly is? Is the great age of the pirates over or have it just begun? Gift story for Gemini.
1. Chapter 1

The wind were starting to blow hard, the storm were finally coming in from the sea. The storm were coming in towards the grand governor's mansion in Arcadia. The grand trees in the garden where waving slightly in the wind. The guards hutted as the wind was freezing, but yet they had to guard the garden, and with good reason too. The night was darker than ever before. As one guard passed on of the outer walls he cowered as the fist lighting striked. Had he not done that he might have seen the shadow that stood on the wall. As the light disappered so did the shadow. As the next flash of light you could see in the few seconds it lighted up the garden that he was a young man.

He stood crocked down looking at the guards hiding from the lighting. At his shoulder sat a white falcon. As the light disappeared again the falcon took of and passed around the garden. With out a sound the man were suddenly jumping down into the garden and ran up to the mansion. Before the next flash of light he jumped into an open window and hid in the half darkness in the empty hall. The falcon came quickly in after him.

_"All clear. The guards where more busy trying to find somewhere to hide from the lighting."_ A voice said inside the man's head. He smiled. In the weak light of the few lights that here on you could now see him more clearly. He held his head high. He was 27 years old by the looks of him. His suit were black with grey zippers on the sides. His suit were quite close sitting with a red brim around his neck. The edges on it had a silver grey color. It had a brim around his chest as well where he had a silver grey skull with two crossing sabers. Around his waist he had two belts both with a silver grey buckle on. The first buckle had a skull on it and the other one had the crossing sabers. The last belt also had a gravity saber and a gun hanging by it. He turned his head a little looking at his falcon again. His Auburn hair moved slightly as he did. His grey brown eyes shined in the darkness. As he smiled the scar across his face moved slightly. The unmistakable scar of the Harlock clan. The white falcon rustled his feathers. He had golden eyes and a sharp beak, his feathers where white as snow but spotet with black edges.

"Now all we have to do his to find out where the Governor is." The young man smiled.

_"Are you sure of this, master?"_ The bird asked looking down the hall. The young man nodded his eyes gleaming dangerously in the dark.

The falcon took of again flying to an table where he could look around the corner. The young man moved up to him and as the bird move to the next corner, he moved on down the hall.

_"Shit master, guards!"_ The falcon cried in his head, and the man moved into a empty room, carefully nearly closing the door, holding his gun ready as he hid behind the door. The falcon landed on a table before the guards saw him and spread his wings. Standing completely still the falcon looked like he was stuffed out.

"The governor must be mad, I tell you." The first guard said as they crossed the corner. "Believing that the pirates will be after him.. No one has seen any signs of the pirates for year now, and good is that I tell you." They were dressed in green guard suits and the first one was shot and round as the other one was long and thin.

"You keep forgetting about the reaming Pirate. He is not gone." The other one said.

"What? That runt... Fritz Harlock?" The first one asked looking to his friend.

"That runt has been said to match all three of the Harlocks so far. Some even said that he matches up to the great pirate knight himself." The other one said shivering. The first one blowed it of.

"Yeah right, thats just rumors. No the real Captain Harlock, he on the other hand were scary. I once came to be in a group that were gonna arrest him. One look of his steel cold eye and everyone fled for their lifes. I tell you it was horrible... Are you even listening to me?" The first guard asked, as he saw his friend were staring at the white falcon.

"Yeah, I just... I can't remember it being here before..." The other one said. The first one sighed.

"Just where are you at day time? The governor were out hunting before the news of the pirate ship came. He probably killed it today." He said waving his arms. The young man relaxed a bit as he had been ready to strike when it looked like his bird were in trouble.

"It looks like it is still alive, if you ask me.." The other one said.

"Still why the governur would have something as ugly as a dead bird out side is bed room is something I can not understand." The first guard said. The young man's brow grey eyes narrowed as he heard. The two guards kept on going down the hall, and as soon as they were out of sigh, the falcon relaxed his wings. The falcon nearly looked like it sighed relived.

_"It's safe, master."_ He sent out to the young man. Coming slowly out of the room, he stopped out side the door that the guards had looked at. The falcon landed on his shoulder.

"This is it, Silvereye. This may be our one chance to find my dad, and the others." The young man said. The falcon nodded.

_"Maybe, but this is dangerous. Are you sure?"_ The falcon asked looking at him with his right golden eye. Again the young man nodded. Holding his gun in his right hand ready, he carefully opened the door. The falcon looked in first.

_"All clear, the only one in the room is laying in the bed."_ The falcon said as he took his head back. The young man walked slowly into the room. Carefully closing the door, while the Falcon kept his eyes on the man in the bed. As the young pirate moved up to the bed he saw the elder face of an old rival to the Harlock clan. The governor of Arcadia, a man that had sworn his loyalty to first the Illumidas empire and then later to the Mech Empire.

_"Governor Draghund."_ The falcon growled. Both of them remembering well the governor's many plans to harm Captain Harlock, using hunters to use the electrocution rings to bring them to him to make a trap for Harlock. It had nearly cost the captain his life, Emeraldas her freedom, his father his life, and even Young Harlock's friend Tochiro his life once. He had even heard a story where some hunters had nearly broth Maetel to him. What the young pirate could not forgive was the memory of Draghund using hunters to snipe the captain, and as his father had saved the captain got badly wounded himself, a wound that nearly had killed him when they were tortured by the Hunter Brothers. The young man aimed his gun to the sleeping man's forehead.

As the cold metal made contact with the man's skin the elder man's eyes shot open. He looked at the man in the shadow. The lights were dimmed but he reconised the scar on his face.

"Harlock!" The elder man cursed as he lifted his head slightly. The young man forced his head back down with the gun.

"Wrong, try again." He growled. The elder man looked at him and as the falcon moved on his shoulder, the governor's eyes widened. He looked back into the young man's eyes.

"Fritz Harlock, I should have known." The governur cursed.

"I have a few questions for you." Fritz growled. The governor looked at him with a hard look.

"What then? I am an old man, I need my sleep." He said lifting his hands slowly up.

"Well I will give you eternal sleep if you try anything." Fritz growled. "Ever since I was a kid and even before that you have been after Captain Harlock and his friends. Using every trick you could to win, and failed every time. Now all my friends and family is gone... What do you know of it?" Fritz growled as he pointed the gun down on his head hard.

"Heh, you think I have something to with that? As much as I enjoy the world now that Harlock is gone, I will never find peace before I know he is dead!" The governur growled and pushed down on something in his hand.

_"Watch out!"_ Silvereye called inside his head. Fritz backed of quickly.

Suddenly the door slammed open behind him and about twenty guards where aiming their guns to them.

"Shit!" Fritz cursed angry. The falcon were flying next to him.

_"Go for the window, I will keep them busy."_ Silvereye called and took of strait into them. The men tried to duck out of the way as the falcon became a white cloud of feathers and dangerously sharp talons and beak. Fritz ran towards the window, using his gun to take down a good few of the guards.

"Cowards, do I have to everything myself?" The governor growled and aimed his gun to the falcon. The sound of the gunshot and the painful scream, that came from the bird as the laser bullet went strait through the birds right wing, froze Fritz in his tracks.

"Silverye!" He called as he saw the falcon fall to the ground. "Bastards!" He growled shooting towards the men again wile running towards the fallen bird. He fell down on his knees as the hilt of a gun hit him in the bace of his neck.

"Now! Grab him!" The governur called as he stepped away. The reaming five men ran up and grabbed hold of Fritz while he was dazed out. Quickly taking his guns and forcing his arms behind his back, it still took all five of them to hold him down, as Fritz head cleared.

"Let go of me!" He called. "Bastards, Silvereye!" He called to his unmoving bird, as he struggled in the men's grip. The governur smiled.

"Seems like I overestimated you, Fritz Harlock." He spat as he said his name. "Now I have some questions for you, but first I think I will feast on a falcon fillet, and the rest of him I will stuff out." The governor laughed as he moved up towards the bird.

"Bastard! Don't you dare! Silvereye!" Fritz called, his furry burring like a wild fire. The governor laughed as he came up to the bird and aiming his gun to kill.

"Silvereye!" Fritz called. Suddenly the bird's eyes shot open and he threw himself around, making the shot miss by a few inches.

"What the..." The governor cursed and aimed after the bird as it jumped quickly over the floor.

"Silvereye! Get out of here!" Fritz called worried, still struggling. The governor shot a few shots after him but the bird got under the bed and were gone. The governor looked under the bed, ready to shot him as soon as he saw him.

"What the..." He asked and stood up. Moving over to the wall he turned on the lights and looked under the bed again. The falcon were gone.

"Where the hell?" The governor asked. "A falcon that can't fly cant disappear.." He growled. Fritz exhaled relived, but did not show it. The governor growled, moving over to the desk he opened a drawer. Taking out two tings from it, he threw a couple of cuffs to one of the guards. The guard took and locked it around Fritz's wrists. Fritz struggled but there was nothing he could do. He looked around on the floor looking for his friend.

"I know that you know of this thing, my good pirate. Tomorrow I will see if you can take pain like a Harlock." The governor laughed as he forced an electrocution ring around Fritz's neck.

"Sleep well to night Pirate, tomorrow you will answer my questions." The governor laughed as two of them haled Fritz with them down the hall and down into the basement.

"Now you three, find that falcon. I want it shown to me dead by day break." The governor growled as he changed room to sleep in.

--

Fritz struggled in the cuffs, he knew that Silvereye was not dead, and that gave him hope.

Silvereye is properly on his way back tot the ship now to tell the crew. He thought to himself.

_"Not really master."_ A familiar voice said inside his head.

"Silvereye!" He said. "Are you hurt? Where are you?" He asked.

_"Luckily wounds suffered when not in our true form is not transfered on if we change." Silvereye said relived. " As for where I am... I am hiding under your brim."_ He said and moved out. Fritz smiled glad as he saw the little grey mouse.

"Thank heavens. I was getting worried there. So that is how you made your trick." Fritz smiled. The mouse nodded.

_"As soon as I got under the bed I changed, and then ran along the wall and up on your back when they were turning on the light."_ Silvereye said. Fritz smiled.

_"Are you pleased now, master? It seems like he has no idea of what happened to them. Or else he would not want to torture you, he would have just killed you."_ Silvereye asked. Fritz nodded.

"yeah, this was another dead end." Fritz said.

_"then lets get out of here."_ The mouse jumped down on the floor and ran out. Soon after Fritz heard a surprised yelp as the guard outside his cell were knocked out. A young teenage wolf looked at him. His silver grey fur shining in the light. His one blue eye and the other silver grey eye smiled at him, as he teared open the cell door.

_"Lets get that of shall we?"_ The wolf asked. Fritz smiled. The wolf jumped up behind him and bit of the cuffs, soon after taking of the ring as well.

"thanks. lets get out of here." Fritz stood up and moved out of the cell.

Not another word was spoken between them as their mind were as one. Soon after they had gotten Fritz's things back and after taking down a few other guards, they left the mansion behind them.

Coming to the place where his ship the Talon waited for him in the cave where the Atlantis had waited for his father, Fritz had to smile. The wolf had changed back to his falcon form and where resting on his shoulder again.

"Captain!" One of the crew members jumped to his feet as he was really supposed to guard the entrance. Fritz smiled but said nothing.

"Any luck captain?" The crew member asked low. Fritz shook his head.

"Just another dead end. Let the crew know we are leaving." He said and moved on down the cave.

_"We'll find them, some day we'll find them." _Silvereye said growling. Fritz nodded, he kew that Silvereye was a frustrated by their friends disappearese as he was. His fathers guardian wolf, a black wolf named Mind, had been like a father to Silvereye, had disappeared with his master as well.

"Yeah, some day." Fritz agreed as they had come to the brigde of the Talon. Taking hold of the helm Fritz swore to himself to protect the Earth, while they were looking for them, and swore to find his father again.

**Author's note:**

**So this was kinda strange I know. This is a Gift Fic for Gemini. It's her OCs I have used here; Fritz Harlock, Silvereye, Falco Harlock and Draghund. This was meant as a sort of beginning to a new story line, and will only be this one parter for now. If this continues, then it will be a new story line, making up new pirates to fill in the places for those who are missing... I am mostly happy about how it came out.**

**Anyway here you are Gemini. Hope you liked this little gift.**

**Feel free to tell me how I did.**

**Lightingtooth. **


	2. Chapter 2

The Talon came out to the sea of stars where she belonged. The ship it self reminded much of the Atlantis but had a lot of the Death shadow in it, it where dark blue in colour with silver grey skulls and crossbones decorating its sides and top. The Flag Of Captain Falco waved at its mast. A black flag with a silver skull and crossing sabers. Fritz sighed and let his first officer take over, as he sat down in his chair. Silvereye took of from his shoulder end perched himself on the top of the chair, much like Tori-san, and his uncle Mind usably did. Fritz leaned back and leaned his head back with a heavy sigh. He opened his eyes and looked up. Silvereye looked down at him. His golden hard bird eyes shined in the weak light. Yet as cold as those eyes seemed he could feel his friend worry about him.

"I am okay." he lied. The guards had not been kind to him as they broth him down to the cell. A series of punches and kicks had rained over him for having killed quite a few of their friends. Silvereye said nothing. He had been there and seen it all, but Fritz were to much of a Harlock to admit it.

"Where to, captain?" The first officer asked. Fritz looked back to him. The little man could remind one of the Yattarn of the Arcadia, apart from the fact that he had no glasses.

"Take us to the DeathShadow Island. We'll restock there and rest a little." Fritz said looking out to the stars.

"Yes sir!" The first officer said as he punched in the coordinates.

"_I still don't understand why the DeathShadow island is standing there. It has always followed the Arcadia of Captain Harlock. Yet for a whole year it have been standing in that same spot and the Arcadia is nowhere to be found."_ Silvereye said low as the Talon made speed. He jumped down to the armlet of the chair and looked at Fritz. The young Pirate nodded.

"_And no sign of the Atlantis, the new Arcadia of Young Harlock or the Queen Emeraldas either."_ Fritz growled.

"_Something must have happened. It's been a whole year since we last heard from them."_ Silvereye said worried_._

"Captain! I am picking up a distress signal!" Fritz's staff officer Irai Yuki, the daughter of Kei Yuki and Kai Oyama, called as she suddenly picked up the signal. The young girl was no older that what Kei had been when she first came on board the Arcadia. In so many ways it was easy to see who her mother was as she had her mothers golden hair and blue eyes. Fritz stood up so quickly, that Silvereye jumped and lost his grip of the armlet. Flapping his wings, he landed of Fritz's shoulder again.

"Who?" He asked her hardly.

"The signal is from the earth forces, sir. They are under attack from pirates!" She said as she realized what it said.

"What!?" Fritz said and rushed to her side.

"From their description, its the DeathShadow, sir..." Irai said shocked.

"What? that cant be right.. The DeathShadow has not been in use since Tochiro jr got the new Arcadia to sail." The first officer called.

"Take us there.." Fritz said, his eyes were wide and his face unreadable.

"Hai!" The first officer called and ran to the controls. Fritz made his way back to the chair and sat down.

"_How is that possible? Who has taken over the DeathShadow? Only the descendants of Captain Harlock will ever have the right to be behind that helm!" _Silvereye growled angry. He feared the DeathShadow had ended up in the hands of wannabe pirates, that would disgrace the ships proud past. Fritz nodded, his fist closed angry at the thought of some cowards taking the proud ship. He would not have it. As long as his father and Harlock and his son were missing he would protect the Earth as well as their honour.

--

As the Talon finally came to the spot where the ships where being attack they were surprised to see how effective the pirates had been. The guard ships had all been rendered helpless and could do nothing to the pirates, but none of them where destroyed. The cargo ship had been stopped by a few well aimed shots.

"Who ever this people are, they are good." The first officerer said whistling as he saw the ships and the condition they were in.

"And they seem to follow Harlock's way of not killing with out reason..." Irai said looking to Fritz as he came up to the window. His grey brown eyes narrowed.

"Take us around to the other side of the cargo ship.. I want to see their ship." He said.

"Hai hai." The first officer said as he took the Talon around the cargo ship.

--

"Impossible!" Fritz gasped surprised as they came around to the other side.

"Is that not..." Irai asked but dared not to say it.

As shocked as they where, indeed right in front of them with boarding tubes to the Cargo ship, the DeathShadow lay and looked at them. The green unmistakable ship with its white skull and cross bones on it shined in the weak light of a moon.

"_Master, look at the flag.." _Silvereye said. As Fritz looked away from the ship and up to the mast, he was even more surprised to see the flag of Captain Harlock and his family. A black flag with the white skull and crossbones.

"_Either these ones have a death wish to show the flag of Harlock so proudly or something else is going on here._" Silvereye mumbled shocked.

"Irai, have you gotten any contact with them?" Fritz asked.

She shook her head.

"No sir, they are not responding to any signals I send." She said worried.

"Try the voice of Arcadia's fresequence." Fritz said.

"Hai!" She said and started to send out.

"_Do you think...?" _Silvereye asked realizing what Fritz here thinking.

"_Could be.."_ He only answered.

"Sir, I am resiving a transmission." Irai said surprised over how fast they answered now.

"Put it up." Fritz said looking up to the screen over them. As the green screen changed even as surprised as he was, Fritz did not show it when he saw the young teenager's face. Unmistakable hard hazel eyes and hazel hair with a touch of fire red in it.

"Little Harlock... I had a feeling it was you." Fritz said crossing his arms over his chest and lowered his head as he shook it slowly. This young boy, only seventeen of age, the son of Captain Harlock and his wife Marian. He had like Young Harlock, his half brother, most of his father in him but you could always see hints of Marian in him as well. Fritz was a little surprised seeing the suit the teenager was now dressed in. The suit it self was red with white brims and a white skull and crossbones on the left side of the chest.

_It's like Young Harlock's only red.." _Silvereye said surprised and said what Fritz where thinking. He had a Cosmo Dragon gun resting at his side, but no saber.

"Fritz! I am glad to see you. We feared something had happened to you and the Talon as there were no news about you for some time.." The young teenager said smiling. Another young teenager came up to his friend, he was a few years younger that Little Harlock. This one was also easy to see what parents he had as he had the classic Oyama look. He also had his father's dark brown hair that where bound up behind his head, but had his mothers blue eyes.

"Ni-san!" Irai called shocked and there were a tone of anger in her voice.

"Hey Irai.." The young boy said, knowing his elder sister was mad at him now.

"Riki-ken! You know mother and father wanted you to stay on Earth!" She said to him angry. She jumped a bit as Fritz rested his hand to her shoulder.

"Little Harlock.. What are you doing out here?" He asked looking to the young pirate in front of him. Little Harlock sighed.

"We cant just sit on Earth as both our fathers are missing. You know this as well as us. That's why you are are here isn't it?" The young boy hit the nail on head. Fritz sighed.

"Where and how did you find the DeathShadow? I believed that had been placed somewhere in the universe for safekeeping.." Fritz asked looking to the young boys with a cold hard look, that his father had often given him when he had done something he shouldn't.

"That well... We were not the ones that found it. The government did. They were all over the news, saying that they were gonna destroy it. Me and Riki-ken snook into where they where keeping it and took it back. Then we gathered a crew of our own and headed out to the sea of stars." Little Harlock said angry. "There was no way that I would let them destroy my father's and my elder brother's ship!" He said cursing angry. Fritz were surprised over how honest they were as they said this. He nodded.

"The DeathShadow belongs to you now, Captain. It could not be any other way." He said giving the two boys a kind smile. Silvereye flapped his wings and called glad. The two boys beamed up proudly. Then suddenly an alarm went of at both' ships.

"Sir! The military is here!" Irai called as she looked to the screen.

"What ships?" Fritz asked as he moved quickly over to the helm.

"Sir! Its the Karyu!" She called surprised, as she recognised the ship.

"The Karyu?" Fritz said surprised with a faint smile.

"This is Admiral Zero of the Karyu, I order you to surrender!" Zero's voice called over the com. Fritz smile widened.

"_Apparently he does not know who we are.." _Silvereye laughed at his shoulder. Fritz smiled.

"Open a com- link to them." He said.

"Hai, com-link open, sir." Irai said turning to Fritz.

"This is Captain Fritz of the Talon, you order us to surrender? That's an odd thing to say for you is it not? Admiral." He smiled. Zero gasped surprised as he saw the young pirate. Fritz were surprised as well. Zero had become much older. About the age of Captain Harlock the first time Fritz met him. He had also grown a moustache and looked nearly reconcilable, had it not been for those hard brown eyes that looked as strong as ever. His suit was pretty much the same but with more markings on the chest, stating his high rank.

"Fritz Harlock. I have not seen you in years. You are captain of your own ship now?" Zero asked surprised.

"Move us out of the shadow of the Cargo ship. Let them see the Talon." Fritz said to his first officer. As the talon moved away from the cargo ship and out where the Karyu could see it, Zero's eyes widened.

"You have indeed a great ship. The rumours of the Talon is becoming well known. I did not know if the rumours about it being you that commanded her, were true." Zero said surprised.

"Kai Oyama build her for me. The Talon stands s the DeathShadow of the Arcadia." Fritz said proud.

"I see.. Yet I don't under stand how this cargo ship could mistake your Talon for the DeathShadow." Zero said looking at Fritz.

"The attack on these ships where not done by the Talon, Admiral. The real DeathShadow did this." Fritz smiled. He saw how Zero's eyes widened.

"What?" He asked, yet he paled as he suddenly saw the other ship that came out from behind the Cargo ship and up next tot the Talon.

"the DeathShadow?!" He asked shocked yet there were a hint of joy in Zero's voice.

"It's not what you think I am afraid." Fritz sighed as he heard.

"What do you mean?" Zero asked worried and were surprised as the DeathShadow answered him.

"It is not my elder brother's ship any more. Young Harlock command the new Arcadia now and disappeared with our father.." Little Harlock answered with true pain in his eyes as he said that.

"Your elder brother? But that would make you..." Zero asked confused and stopped himself.

"The young half brother of Young Harlock, son of Captain Harlock and Marian. My name is Franklin Harlock the second, or Little Harlock as they call me." Little Harlock answered proudly.

"Then you are the ones that saved the DeathShadow from becoming junk?" Zero asked relived, surprising both of the Pirate captains.

"I tried to make them not do it, but they would not listen. They believed if they junked it the era of Space pirates were over. I planed to have someone steal it and bring it somewhere safe but I am glad to see a Harlock behind her helm again. It should not be any others being her helm. I am sure you will make your family proud." Zero said relived. Little Harlock nodded to him proud.

"It has been years since I least saw Young Harlock behind her helm." His face showed real worry and sadness as he said that.

"Then I take you have not seen or heard anything about the others?" Fritz asked, his eyes narrowed. Zero shook his head.

"Nothing... No words and no signs. I don't like this. I can only hope nothing has happened to them, like being held by someone like Kichigai or his son Akuhei again." The military captain cursed. His cross shaped scar over his chest had still not faded away and served as a painful reminder of what had happen to him and Young Harlock.

"Any sign of any hunters? Like the Hunter Brothers?" Fritz asked again and made no attempt to hide the icy anger in his voice as he said that.

"None." Zero answered knowing why Fritz were angry to think of it. "We'll keep looking. I want to find them as much as you do, my friends." Zero said but his eyes turned to a side for a few seconds.

"You better leave now. We are picking up three other military ships heading this way. We'll fire some shots towards you, to make it seem you are getting away from us. Hurry!" Zero said. Fritz nodded.

"Thank you Zero, we will head to the DeathShadow island. If you find something then come there." He said as he signalled for his first officer to get going.

"Little Harlock! You did good work here. Your elder brother and father would be proud of you." Zero said with a smile. Little Harlock smiled a smile that Zero recognised so well from Young Harlock. Riki-ken grinned like an Oyama.

"Thank you Captain Zero." Little Harlock said as the DeathShadow followed the Talon.

Zero sat back in his chair and smiled.

"I had never expected two boys so young, could get the DeathShadow out of the claws of the government." Drake smiled by his side. The chocolate brown, one eyed wolf looked up at him and smiled. Zero smiled and scratched his ears.

The Karyu fired of a few shots towards the pirate ships but missed on purpose, Zero could not help but smile as he saw the too ships disappearing.

"The era of the Great Space Pirates are not over by far, it has just begun." Zero smiled.

**Author's note:**

**okay I had only first planed to have only the first chapter of this story but as Gemini kept coming with great ideas I had to continue this story.**

**Here you go Gemini, I did as you suggested and added a Son of Kai Oyama and a son of Captain Harlock and Marian. I took the liberty of making the mother Kei Yuki and also adding a daughter.**

**The names I used translates to:**

**Riki-ken means Strong sword.. I found that it were a good name for the son of a great sword master as Kai of the Oyama clan.**

**Irai as his daughter is called means Trust. A fitting name for her as she does the same work as her mother does on-board the Arcadia and also as the daughter of Falco's best friend Kai.**

**I picked Little Harlock as the name of Harlock's second son as he is the youngest and also as a homage to the manga of the Harlock saga storyline where the father of Captain Harlock calls his son Little Harlock.**

**I chose to enter Captain Zero here and as much time has passed I imagined Zero had been rising in the ranks since we last saw him, but he will not give up on his old ship the Karyu. **

**More will probably follow this but I hope you liked it so far.**

**Feel free to tell me how I did.**

**Lightingtooth. **


	3. Chapter 3

"Fight Coward!" She growled as she again swing her saber after him. Waiting for him to parry or counter strike, and all the pirate did was pulling back.

_Is this really the feared pirate Captain Harlock?_ She thought as this man before her, refused to pull out his saber.

"I will not fight you, Mayu." He said as he again pulled away from her.

His one hazel brown eye watching her coldly. His hazel brown hair waved, as he moved and covered and uncovered the black patch over his right eye. The scar over his left cheek spoke of his ability to endure pain.

She lunged at him again making the pirate spin to move out of the blade's way, making his black cape wave as it followed him, before covering the back suit with the white skull and cross bones again. She stood still breathing angry. Even as the pirate refused to fight her, he had managed to start wearing her out. His eye seemed to shine and it angered her to see that, as it reminded her of something she could not remember. She forced it back, refusing to think about it.

She was dressed in a black closely sitting suit with red markings at the neck, arms, and legs. She had a red spider mark on her chest. Her sea blue hair was bond up in a braid behind her back. Her brown eyes glowed hatefully.

"Fight Damn you!" She screamed and put all her strength into the thrust, closing her eyes. She froze up as she felt her saber go though something. Her eyes shot open as she could feel warm blood spray up in her face.

Her saber had gone strait through the captain's heart. As she in her shook pulled her saber out, the captain gasped for air and held his right hand to the hole in his chest, as he stretched his other hand out to touch her.

"Ma..yu..." He gasped as he fell to the ground and lay dead at her feet. She dropped her saber and pulled back quickly, holding her blood stained hands up to her face.

Then suddenly a young nine year old girl came running up to the dead captain, crying.

"Harlock! Harlock get up!" She cried as she shook his cape to make the pirate move. Then the girl looked up at Mayu. Her brown eyes looked up at her, filled with tears. The girl blue hair and red dress with the ocarina hanging around her neck, made Mayu pull even further back in shock.

"Why? Why did you kill him? He looked after us! Why?" The young Mayu cried as she lay over the man she had been raised by.

"I didn't mean to. He was gonna parry or pull away.. Why... Why didn't he pull away?" Mayu asked as she shook violently.

"Because he loved us!" Cried the young Mayu to her.

"Captain?" A voice called as a hand placed itself on Mayu's shoulder. Mayu wake up with a startled sound and looked around. She was in her captain's room onboard her own ship. She had fallen asleep at her desk. An android stood next to her and looked at her. The android were dressed in a black cloth that covered her entire body, giving out only the contours of her form.

"Captain are you okey?" The android asked worried. "Your pulse is racing and you are sweating. Are you sick, madam?" The android asked. Mayu stood up and walked over to the grand windows of her room.

"No Rowa. I only had a nightmare. A really bad one." She said stroking a hand up to her head. She was shaking a bit as she was still scared by the dream. She looked at herself in the refection of the window, as outside there were only darkness and stars to be seen. She was dressed in a suit, much like that of her mother Lady Emeraldas, only hers were light purple in colour with white pants. Her sea blue hair hang down from behind her head, where she had placed it up with a hair band with a white skull and cross bones mark on it. Her brown eyes looked over herself and the suit she had on. She had two belts around her waists, one with her saber and a gun. She pulled up the saber and looked at it.

_Was that really a dream... Or was that a memory I have forgotten? Have I..._ She thought worried to herself as she looked at the saber.

"Nightmare captain?" Rowa the android asked. Mayu shook her head as she walked around to her desk, where a picture of her father and mother stood. She smiled as she saw that her suit were like her mothers. She moved over to her bed as she took the saber back in its place and sat down on her bed.

"You wanted something?" Mayu asked trying to take her mind of her dream.

"Yes captain, we are on the coordinates of the Deathshadow island and will be there in a few hours." The android said and look like she was gonna leave.

"Wait Rowa." Mayu said. She did not want to be alone after that nightmare.. Not just yet.

"Yes captain?" The android asked, ready to reserve new orders.

"When did my father build this ship?" Mayu asked. "How long have it been waiting for me?" She asked as she stood up again moving over to her table and filled a glass of wine. As she looked into it she looked back at her much older face, than she could say she was.

"I can't remember anything... Last thing I remember I was nine years old... What the hell happened to me?" She asked more herself than any one else. She had Rowa and the medics Android check her, as she wanted to know how old she was now. She had gotten quite the shook to learn she was 29 years old and with no memory of what had passed during those years..

"Your father began the constriction, as soon as he heard your mother was pregnant, Captain." Rowa answered.

"I am still not used to being called that." Mayu smiled to the droid.

"Master Tochiro programmed us to have you as our captain, madam." Rowa answered. Mayu smiled and sat down at the chair next to the window.

"I suppose so. You may leave." She smiled and looked out to the sea of stars. Rowa left as Mayu started to think back to how she had ended up there.

--

As far back as she could remember she had been living at a children school as her parents wanted to keep her safe. Her one year older brother Tochiro Jr had told her that before she was seven, they had been living in a hell of an orphanage, her mind had erased all of those years before. Tochiro and his best friend Young Harlock had ran away from the orphanage to lead a rebellion and later left to find their parents. She could remember coming to that school and getting taken well care of there. She had been happy there even as she was alone since Captain Harlock, her father and brother often come to visit, but as her father had died Harlock had looked after her even as dangerous as it was to him as she knew Harlock were a wanted man.

Then the last thing she remembered, was running to get to greet Harlock and her brother, as they had returned from being gone for so long. After that her memory was all gone.

Her life had seemed to begin again as she had woken up again.

She looked around and found herself in her bed in her old room. She jumped a bit seeing an old lady sleeping in a chair next to her. She looked at her carefully and suddenly recognised her as the teacher that had looked after her.

_How old she looks.. I can't remember her being so old.. _She thought as she tried to sit up. The sounds of her moving woke the old lady up.

"Mayu-Chan, you are awake!" She said glad.

"What happened to me... I.. can't remember..." Mayu whined painfully as her head hurt.

"You should take it easy.. Your memory will return." The old lady said as she pushed her back into her bed.

"I found you outside unconscious. Image my shock to find you laying there after you have been gone for so long. The way Harlock looked when he told me that you were gone, I believed you were dead for sure." The old lady cried.

"Harlock? Is he okey?" Mayu asked quickly. The elder lady froze as she asked.

"We don't know where the pirates have gone of to. All of them have been missing for nearly a year now. Mayu-Chan, you have been gone for nearly 34 years now, and you don't look any older than 25-30.." The old lady said worried.

"What? Last I remember was running to met him, and I was only nine years old then. How is that even possible?" Mayu asked.

"I have no idea.." Said the old lady. "Oh, I have something for you." She said and hurried over to the closet in the room.

"Harlock gave this to me before he vanished after you disappeared. he reappeared some years later with the rest of the great pirates and a few more joined up as well. He wanted me to return this to you, if you returned. He seemed so broken down by your disappearance. I have never seen a so heartbroken face before." The old lady said sad and put down a box in front of her.

"What is this?" Mayu asked worried.

"I don't know. I never had the heart to open it. I'll let you open it in peace my dear, I will make us some tee." The old lady said and left.

Mayu looked at the box for a long time and at the end, she found the courage to open it. In the box there were only two things laying. Her ocarina that she had lost along with her memories and an envelope. She lifted up the ocarina and looked at it for a long time. She had been given this ocarina on her seventh birthday by Harlock. Carefully trying it out, she found that she still knew how to play it and as she played her tears came rolling down her cheeks. After a while she could not play it anymore and sank into her pillow crying. Then after a while there were like a sharp edge on the envelope that she was laying on. She dried her tears and looked at it.

'To my princess Mayu' The envelope said and she opened it carefully, as she did a pendant in gold shaped like a scull and cross bones with a gold chain fell out. She lifted it up and looked at it. Then her eyes turned to the envelope again. She took out the letter that was placed with the pendant. Her tears were coming up in her eyes again as she started to read what it said.

_Dear Mayu, my darling daughter._

_If you are reading this then I have passed away, as I have asked Harlock only to give you this letter, if I could not tell you this in person._

_You are one of my greatest treasures. You and your brother are my treasure that I hold so close to my heart, and no matter what happens ,no matter what you do, I will always love you and so will you mother. We never wanted to leave you on Earth but you were safer there. I hope you find it in your heart to forgive us._

_The pendant I lay with this letter, will open up a secret I hope you will find good use of. _

_Travel to the cliffs near the old wreckage close to your school. There you will find a place where the pendant will fit perfectly._

_Good luck my little princess, _

_Love daddy Tochiro._

After reading the letter, she started to cry again but dried her tears, as she remembered how Harlock always wanted her to smile and be glad. Now she had to both for her parents and Harlock.

She dressed in a simple white dress and took the pendant around her neck, and the ocarina in her hands. She had left a letter to the old lady saying that she had to find her memory back. She then travelled down to the old ship wreck, not to far from her old school were she usually met Harlock back then.

She looked to her father's grave under an old grand tree. She quickly gathered some wild flowers and made her way up there, placing the flowers on his grave and then played the melody on her ocarina. Standing there for some time, she then moved down to where the cliffs where.

She walked along the rocks holding a hand to the rocks, feeling the rocks with her fingers. She looked to the old ship wreck and wondered why it was still here, if so many years had passed. She smiled slightly. Even as much as she had seen other things had changed this place remained unchanged. It was still just as she remembered it. Then suddenly as she lowered her hand down she suddenly felt her finger slip into a hole in the rock. She turned quickly making her hair wave a little. She looked at it closer and got surprised as the hole in the rock was shaped as a skull and crossbones.

"Now that is not suspicious at all." she smiled as she stroked her hand over it.

"Dad.." She said low as she took of her pendant and looked at it. Smiling slightly to herself, she looked around to make sure no one else was looking. As she saw no one, she sighed.

"Okey, here I go." She said and put her pendant into the hole. At first nothing happened, then she heard a slight click and the ground started to shake as a door suddenly opened out from the cliffs in front of her.

"Wow!" She said surprised and wide-eyed as she looked at it. Looking around one more time she swallowed her worry and moved into the door taking with her pendant. As the door closed behind her with a bang, she jumped a little. She stood completely still as she could not see anything in the pitch black room.

Suddenly a screen came on in front of her lighting up the room. She blinked for a few moments letting her eyes adjust to the light. She jumped a bit surprised as she saw a face appear on the screen.

"Welcome Mayu. I knew you would find this place soon enough." Tochiro Sr smiled at her.

"Dad..." She said as tears came up in her eyes.

"Now now, don't cry." Tochiro said surprising her quite much.

"It's been a long time since we have seen each other I am sure, and you must have missed me a lot but don't cry. I have already chosen my fate, now it is time for you to choose yours." He smiled. Her tears started to fall now.

"Dad you already knew you were dying at this point.." She whimpered as she stroked the screen.

"I have made you something.. Something I think you will like. Heh had I know back when I started this, that I had a son as well I would of Corse made him one as well, but seeing how he is already picking up on his own my old tricks..." Tochiro said with a grand smile. Mayu smiled tearfully knowing what her father meant.

"To open the door here, place you pendant into the panel. There you will be met by a guide who will show around. The pendant is the key to your surprise, so keep it with you at all times. My dear daughter, may the sea of stars treat you well. Good luck my dear dear daughter." Tochiro said and gave her a fling kiss. Mayu sat down on the floor crying, as it again felt like she had lost her hole family. For a moment there she did have her father there, talking to her like her mother and Brother was right outside the room. She could not move for some time before she remembered what Harlock had said to her on her seventh birthday.

"We meet for the first time in year and you greet me with tears?" He had asked. She nodded as she got back up her feet.

"I wont cry anymore." She said to herself as she moved over to the panel. Placing her pendant into the opening the door opened.

She jumped a bit as a shadow moved towards her.

"welcome captain Mayu. We have been waiting for you." the robot like voice said as the shadow moved closer, as the person came up to her, the person were dressed in a black cloche that covered the entire body of the person.

"Who are you?" Mayu asked distrustful.

"Master Tochiro named me Rowa, madam. I am the first officer." The shadow said.

"What are you? Master Tochiro? First officer? What are you talking about?" Mayu asked worried and confused. The shadow tilted her head slightly.

"I am an android. Master Tochiro made me to be the first officer of your ship captain." Rowa said as it was obvious.

"My ship? My father made me a ship?" Mayu asked shocked and more than surprised over the turn of events. The android nodded.

"Yes captain. The princess Mayu. Follow me please." Rowa said and turned around. With out knowing what else to do Mayu followed shocked after the black dressed android.

_The princess Mayu? _Mayu thought as she followed Rowa into a new room. Rowa moved to the side of the room and picked up something. Mayu looked around, it looked like a drawing room of some kind. She could see some blueprints laying here and there but all in all she could see this room had not been used for years. Rowa turned to her and gave her a suitcase of some kind.

"I was asked by Lady Emeraldas to give you this when you came here. She feared she would not be her herself." Rowa said.

"My mother?" Mayu said surprised as she placed the suitcase on a table and opened it. To her surprise there lay a suit for her.

"Did my mother?" She asked looking up to Rowa. The android nodded.

"Yes captain. She wanted you to have that when you set out on your own she said." Rowa answered.

"Is there any where I can put this on?» Mayu asked as she stood up. Rowa nodded.

"Right in here." She said and opened a door to the side. Mayu took her suit and when in the door. The room was not big at all and just looked like a store room of some kind. Placing the suitcase next to her, she took of her the simple dress and redressed to the suit she now had.

As she came out, she was now dressed in white pants, black boots, and a light purple captain's jacket. She looked at herself in the wall as she could see her refection in the metal. She smiled. All in all she looked now like a captain. She smiled but moved some locks of her hair back.

"Here captain. Captain Harlock wanted you to have this." Rowa said and gave her a white hair band with a white skull and cross bones mark on it.

"Harlock?" She asked as she took it and looked at it, before looking back to the Android.

"Do you know what has happened to them?" She asked quickly. Rowa looked at her and tilted her head.

"Happened to them? What you mean captain? They left me here to wait for you. I have been turned of since master Tochiro left and where only reactivated when you put the pendant in the panel, madam." Rowa said her voice sounded surprised.

"Oh.." Mayu sighed. "Well guess I will have to be the one to tell you my father is dead then." Mayu said sad. Rowa looked surprised as her body seemed to freeze.

"When?" Rowa asked.

"When I was 9.. My father became ill with a space sickness and died." Mayu said sadly. Rowa looked shocked still.

"You better follow me. There is someone that needs to hear this." Rowa said as she led Mayu on down the halls and into a door. Mayu froze as she saw the ship that stood there. It looked like a smaller version of her mothers Queen Emerladas. The part of the ship that looked like a balloon were coloured green with the skull and crossbones painted over its sides. Under the balloon part where a sail boat a lot like that outside of the cliffs.

As Mayu stood taking in all of it Rowa looked at her.

"Rowa is this?" She asked turning to the android. Rowa nodded.

"This is the Princess Mayu, the ship your father made for you, captain." Rowa said and Mayu could have sworn she must have been smiling. "But captain, we should hurry, she will need to talk to you as soon as possible." Rowa said and made her way to a way into the ship.

"Wait, her?" Mayu asked as she followed as quickly as she could but Rowa did not answer. Rowa lead her deep into the ship, stopping only when they arrived at a grand door.

"Here it is. She is waiting for you on the other side, captain." Rowa said and turned to her.

"Her? Who is she?" Mayu asked worried.

"The heart of the ship, if you will excuse me I will go activate the rest of the crew." Rowa said and left. Mayu looked at herself in the refection of the door.

_Well now that I look the part of a captain, I better act up like one as well._ She thought as she looked quickly to the hair band and sighed. She took her hair up in a pony tail behind her head letting it fall lose behind her back. She moved closer to the door and the door opened. A she moved in to the grand room, she was quickly reminded of the main computer room of the Arcadia. She jumped a bit as a voice spoke to her.

_"Welcome, Mayu, daughter of Lady Emeraldas and master Tochiro."_ A kind female voice called inside her head.

"You are?" Mayu asked moving closer to the computer.

_"I am the heart of the Princess Mayu. Your father build me from your mother's ship, and placed a part of the soul of the ship here, were I was born from that. Your father named me Kikan, as I am the mirror of your mother's ship's soul. I was created to serve you."_ The computer blinked and made sounds but the voice were clear and kind.

"My father created you.. For what reason?" Mayu asked.

_"So that you could make your own way in the sea of stars, like he, your mother and Harlock did. He wanted you to have the choice. What you do with it is up to you."_ The computer stated. "Your father is a great man. He wanted only the best for you." Mayu jumped a bit.

"You don't know either... My father has passed away. He got a space sickness and passed away when I was nine." Mayu said, not liking to be the one to tell, at all. the computer went silent.

_"I sort of knew... He was very ill when he was here last. Poor master."_ The voice said sounding like she was crying silently.

"Of sorts he is not really dead. Harlock told me that my father's soul lives in the main computer of the Arcadia. He is still out there sailing the sea of stars." Mayu said hoping to lift the ships spirit a bit. It seemed to do the trick too.

_"I see."_ She said sounding still sad but a bit glad as well. _"Well then princess.. What will you do now that you have the Princess Mayu to use as you please? Follow in your mothers footsteps and become a pirate, or live like your mother did during the Illimus war as a free trader? Or will you use your ship to explore the universe?" _The computer asked harshly, almost demanding an answer. Mayu did not answer at first, thinking for herself.

_What do I want out of my life? What did I want... I cant remember..._ She cursed angry for herself, not knowing that the computer could hear her.

"I want to find my mother and Harlock." Mayu said strongly after thinking a bit. She wanted to find them as she had a feeling at she could find her memory as well when she met Harlock again.

_"Then we go to find the great pirates, captain Mayu." _The computer said and started its engines.

"Mhm." Mayu said and nodded.

_"Rowa!" _The computer called and the door opened with Rowa entering quickly.

_"Take Mayu to the brigde. We are leaving for the sea of stars." _The computer said sounding like she almost smiled.

"Hai, this way captain." Rowa said and started to lead Mayu out of the room.

_"Captain, use the pendant on your chair when you get to the bridge. It will give you control over the ship when you need it."_ Kikan said. Mayu smiled.

"I trust you to get us to were we can find them, Kikan."

--

_"We will soon arrive at the Deathshadow island, captain."_ Kikan said in her head. Mayu had been quite surprised the first time Kikan talked to her when she was not in the main central computer room but now she was used to it.

"Are you sure we will find any clues there... Harlock and the others have been missing for a year.." Mayu cursed.

_"Even if we do not find any pirates there. Harlock would have left some sort of clue for us. That I am sure of." _Kikan said sure. Mayu nodded.

"Yeah. We'll find them. We have to." Mayu said and stood up looking out of the window. Soon she would find out if her dream was just a dream or if she really had killed her stepfather...

**Authors note:**

**So here is the third chapter of this story and now things are coming together.. I am really pleased on how this one came out. This time I really had the suspense down like a nail.**

**Hope you liked it as much as I did. Next chapter should not be to far of as well.**

**Kikan means mirror by the way.**

**Feel free to tell me how I did.**

**Lightingtooth. **


	4. Chapter 4

Mayu walked out of the Princess Mayu, as her ship had landed inside the Deathshadow island.

"_Have a look around captain. I will see if I can find some where in the main computer just why the Deathshadow is not following the Arcadia, and see if they may have left some clue, as to where they may have gone."_ Kikan said as Mayu walked out.

"I trust you to find it. If any one can, it would be you. I go see if there are any clues as well." Mayu said and walked into the halls of the Deathshadow island. Walking on, she looked around on the metal walls and door, feeling a little lost in this metallic world. Most of the life she could remember, she had played in the green grass and in the forest. What was she gonna do here?

Then suddenly her foot kicked a empty bottle down the hall, before she even knew what she was doing, she had drawn her gun and fired of a shot that made the bottle brake in hundred bits.

"Wow, that sure surprised me." She breathed relived before looking down on her smoking gun.

"Why am I able to do things like this? I fired of that shot so smoothly like it was second nature for me... When did I learn that?" She sighed heavily, realising that she had no clue to where she had learned to fire a gun. Looking at it she was both glad and a little sad as she saw the Tochiro invention mark on her Cosmo Dragoon. Her father had left it for her in the captain's room of the Princess Mayu. She sighed and placed the gun back in the sheath. She looked around and smiled as she saw all the things that lay in the halls. She could quite clearly remember how the crew of the Arcadia used the hang around in the halls of the ship. The island of captain Harlock would have been no different. Still the death silence in the island made her worry. It was all to quiet.

Then she could hear a weak sound of waves hitting land. Following the sound, she came to the door that lead into the island itself. She stopped as she had walked into the door and looked around. The island lay quiet in the night, a gentle wind made the threes wave gently as her hair and cape moved in the wind. She looked over the artificial sea that lay quiet in the darkness, the only sounds where the wind and waves. Walking slowly deeper into the island, walking under the threes, her mind were flying back to the memories she did have of Harlock and her family, wondering just where they had gone.

--

Fritz had lead the DeathShadow back to the DeathShadow island. As their ships landed in the docking bay, they noticed the familiar and yet unfamiliar ship that lay there.

"Do you know that ship, Fritz?" Little Harlock asked, as they came out for their own ship meting up with Fritz.

"It looks so alike the queen Emeraldas, that it is uncanny." Riki-ken said worried. Fritz nodded.

"I have no idea who's ship this is... Or even how they have known the code to open the docking bay..." He said, as he looked at the ship before him. Silvereye moved worried on his shoulder.

"_We should check around the island. Who ever that ships crew is, They will probably be around in the island by now."_ Silvereye said, as he landed on the ground and changed back to his true form, of the grey wolf. He quickly sniffed around on the floor, picking up the sent of the one that had come out from the ship.

"Strange... I only pick up the sent of one person, a woman. The sent itself is... strange. Familiar... like Tochiro jr's, in a strange way..." Silvereye said and followed the track of her, quickly followed by Fritz and the two boys.

"Careful Silvereye, looks like there are a lot of glass shards here." Fritz said as they walked further into the halls. Silvereye nodded and lifted his nose higher to not cut his nose on the shards, and were careful on where to place his paws. As they moved into the Island itself, Little Harlock and Riki-ken stopped and looked around. As Fritz followed Silvereye, they quickly followed after them.

"Wow, this place is so big.." Riki-ken muttered as he followed. Little Harlock nodded.

"Dad told me that the Deathshadow island was the first island Tochiro sr had made." Little Harlock said, as he looked around feeling like he has following his fathers footprints.

"Listen.." Silvereye said suddenly, as he had stopped, his ears were turned forward listening.

"What is it?" Fritz asked, coming up to his side.

"An ocarina. I can hear a ocarina." The wolf whispered low.

"An ocarina?" Little Harlock asked confused. Silvereye nodded, not taking his eyes of the road.

"Lead the way." Fritz said hard, even as confused as he was now, but not doubting his friend's ears.

As Silvereye lead on, they could soon hear the ocarina as well. Fritz cursed low as he recognised the melody. His father had learned him the melody a long time ago, and he had often heard Harlock and young Harlock play it as well. The melody that had been handed down generation by generation in the Harlock clan.

_Who the hell is this? How the hell does she know that melody?_ Fritz growled inside of him, making Silvereye growl as well.

Riki-ken cast a few nervous looks over to Fritz and his friend Little Harlock, as both of them had tensed up.

--

Mayu had sat down on some rocks, looking over the sea. Her heart was heavy and she felt lost. She looked over the moonlit sea and sighed. Resting her hands by her sides, she suddenly felt the ocarina she had fastened in her belt. Loosening it from her belt, she took her to her lips and played a melody that had not been played on this island for over a year. Not knowing that someone else were listening as well, she closed her eyes. Sitting playing calm, feeling the breeze that made her hair wave.

As Fritz and the two boys made their way up where she sat, Riki-ken suddenly tripped over a rock and landed on his stomach with a painful sound. Mayu stood up, and spun around while grabbing her saber as quickly as her mother could have done. Her saber clashed against Fritz's saber, as the young pirate were as quick as her. Her brown eyes widened as she saw the scar over Fritz face. At the same time Fritz's eyes widened, as he saw who she looked like. Both of them pulling quickly back and looked at each other.

"Lady Emeraldas?" Fritz asked at first, before shaking his head. He saw the blue hair of hers, as it waved in the breeze. Her suit were the same as Emeraldas, only her jacket were light purple and a red cape.

"No... Who are you?" He asked, lowering his saber. Silvereye seemed unsure whether to grow at her or not. Mayu looked at Fritz and his wolf. She guessed he was around the age 25. His auburn hair and grey brown eyes made her realize, she was not looking at young Harlock. The suit the man had on were very different as well. Black with grey edges and a grey skull and grey sabers mark on his chest. The wolf next to him were young, she could tell. His silver grey fur matched his one eye but made the blue one stand out. She looked back into Frtiz's grey brown eyes. She looked at him long before looking at the two boys by his sides. For a few seconds there she got really confused, as at first she believed she was looking at Young Harlock and Tochrio jr. As they looked so strikingly alike them from her memory, but seeing the tone of red in Little Harlock's hair and the darker tone in Riki-ken's hair, as well as remembering how much older she was now, she knew it was not them.

"My name is Mayu Oyama. Who are you?" She asked as she looked strait at Fritz. She got surprised as the others quickly pulled back in shock, hearing her name.

"Mayu? As in Mayu, Tochrio Oyama sr and Lady Emeraldas daughter?" Silvereye asked. She looked at the young wolf a bit surprised, but nodded with a faint smile. Fritz and Silvereye exchanged looks and so did Little Harlock and Riki-ken. Shaking his head, Fritz desisted to leave his questions behind for now and introduce himself first.

"I am Fritz Harlock, son of Falco Harlock. A distant relative of Captain Harlock. This is my guardian and friend, Silvereye." Fritz said, as Silvereye changed back to his bird form and rested on his shoulder yet again.

"This is Franklin Harlock or Little Harlock, the youngest son of Captain Harlock and little brother of Young Harlock. His friend Riki-ken, Kai Oyama's son." Fritz said and pointed to the two boys. Mayu greeted them kindly, even as she was still confused as to how long time had passed.

"Is that ship in the docking bay, your ship?" Riki-ken asked beaming. Mayu nodded.

"The Princess Mayu. My father build her for me before he died." She smiled. "I just found out aboth that myself." She added as she saw the surpriced looks she got. Fritz cast a quick look over to to Silvereye that looked at him with one of his golden eyes.

Fritz looked down to Little Harlock.

"Let your crew know that they can wander around like they want to. We'll stay here for a while to restock and rest up a bit, before we take up the search up again." He said. The two boys nodded and ran back to their ship to let the crew of theirs and Fritz ship know.

"Lady Mayu, will you follow me to the Captains room? I think you have about as many questions as I have." He said with a smiled and started to walk. Mayu nodded and followed him quickly.

"Mayu, just call me Mayu." She smiled as she came up to him again. Fritz smiled.

--

Arriving in the grand room of the Deathshadow captains room, Mayu was struck over how alike it was that of captain Harlock's room in the Arcadia. She walked around looking at the chair and desk and over to the great windows. Fritz moved with out a sound over to the wine charpinet and took out a bottle and two glasses. Filling the two glasses, he gave one of them to Mayu. Not saying a word, he sat down in Harlock's chair by the window and looked at her. Silvereye landed on the skull on top of the chair and looked down to his master.

"_What's on your mind, master?" _Silvereye asked worried.

Fritz looked but but flinched a bit as his left shoulder screamed out as he moved. Silvereye flapped his wings.

"_Master!" _Hecalled worried. Mayu turned and saw Fritz sit bent over holding to his left shoulder.

"Fritz-san?" She asked moving quickly up to him, just as she was gonna touch his shoulder Fritz sat up again. He was still holding to his shoulder and was breathing hard.

"I'm okey. Just some old brushes that started to burn." He said smiling faintly to reasure her he was okey.

"_Old brushes master? It has not even been a two days since those guards got hold of you." _Silvereye said and made sure Mayu heard him.

"Guards? What did you do?" Mayu asked as she sat down on the other chair across from Fritz . Fritz looked up at Silvereye with a look that could quite easy kill. Silvereye just nodded his head. He knew well that Fritz did not want Mayu to hear about it, but Silvereye was worried about him.

"Not much... As I am sure you are aware of, Captain Harlock and my father Falco Harlock has disappeared with all of their friends including your mother, Lady Emeraldas. This was almost a year ago. I have been looking for them during all that time. Two days ago, me and Silvereye travelled to earth, more precisely Arcadia, to talk to an old rival of captain Harlock. To tell the truth it could have gone a lot better. Silvereye was almost killed be course of me and I was well on my way for another run in with those hell-cursed electrocution rings." Fritz cursed angry, as he remembered all to well how much that blasted thing had hurt. Mayu looked confused.

"Electrocution rings?" She asked worried as she saw how tense Fritz were now.

"_Metal rings that gives out strong eclectic shocks. They are fastened around the neck of its victim and then when used, they paralyse, burn and give out strong shocks at the same time. Too many of us have already felt it. Harlock, Young Harlock, Falco, Fritz, Lady Emeraldas even Tochiro jr had a run in with them. The bastard that were behind them, created two versions of it. The first of them were sold to the Governor of the Arcadia ,that he gave to his bounty hunters to use on the Harlocks or friends of them to keep them under controll, until they could be delivered to him. The other version were made after he started to work for the mech empire, to force humans to give up their bodies in exchange for the torture to stop. We have tried to stop them from spreading but no matter how many factories are destroyed , they are always ready with more."_ Silvereye cursed angry. Mayu paled.

"And you have been tortured with one of them?" She asked worried, looking at the young man in front of her. Fritz took a deep sip of his glass an looked at her with his grey brown eyes.

"When I was ten years old me, Silvereye and my father was captured by the Hunter Brothers. Three bounty hunters that were working for Draghund then. The bastards nearly killed my father with the damn thing and tortured me just for the fun of it, and to make my father more angry so that they could get to torture him more." Fritz growled and took around his neck to where the scar had been. Sometimes in the right light you could still see a faint mark from it. Mayu looked worried as Silvereye landed on his arm and made a low sound, a sound of worry. Fritz stocked over the birds head and calmed his friend down.

"And you thought maybe Draghund had something to do with the pirates had gone missing?" She asked looking at him. Silvereye nodded. Fritz on the other hand, looked at her coldly.

"I believed that then yes, but he had no more idea then we... Yet seeing you here..." Fritz said standing up. Silvereye moved up to his shoulder again. Fritz moved over to the window and looked out at the island, as he and Silvereye discussed low between them self with the mind speak.

_"I don't think she knows anything. She would have said something by now if she did." _Silvereye said low.

_"Or she knows and will not tell." _Fritz said taking another sip of his glass.

_"Not likely. I would have seen it in her eyes if she did lie." _Silvereye reminded him. Silvereye had a gift of seeing into people's hearts and see when they lied or not.

_"Then how do you explain it?" _Fritz asked, closing his eyes.

_"Maybe you should just ask her? But gently, master. There seem to be some thing bothering her as well." _The falcon said. Fritz nodded and turned and looked at her. Indeed it seemed like something bothered the young pirate queen. Mayu sat still looking strait into the chair, not really seeming to be there, only taking a few sips of her glass.

"Where did you come from Mayu? Harlock told me you had been missing for quite some years." Fritz asked turning around. Mayu jumped a bit hearing him speak to her and looked up at him. Fritz stood leaning his back to the wall, crossing his arms across his chest, holding the glass in one hand. The falcon seemed to rest on his shoulder, yet looked at her with its golden eyes.

"I don't know. I sort of woke up a week ago, back at my old school where I apparently disappeared from, but I have no memory of any thing. All I can remember is from when I was a child to up to being nine years old. Then nothing until a week ago." She shook and held her ocarina in her hands, looking at it.

_"Sounds like what happened to Marian. Do you think it could have been a Alberich monster?" _Silvereye asked worried seeing how worried Mayu was.

_"Might have been, Mayu did mean a lot to Harlock. She would have been a good target for Alberich." _Fritz cursed.

_"But still... Why let her grow up? It is not like any of the Alberich monsters we have met, that would take that time to let her grow up and then when it had Harlock, let her go. Alberich would have killed her in front of Harlock as soon as he had the chance." _Silvereye whined pointing out a good point.

_"But who else could have the power to make then disappear?" _Fritz asked looking at Silvereye in the corner of his eye.

_"Mayu, what else do you remember?" _Silvereye asked looking at her. Mayu shook her head.

"I don't remember anything... I have lost half of my life. As far as I can say, I am still nine years old, and where I learned to train with a saber or gun... I have no idea. I just know how, like it is almost second nature." She cursed and looked up at Fritz worried.

"Mayu... My father told me to wait on Titan for them, as him, Harlock, Young Harlock and the others set out a year ago, as you had been spotted on on of the planets. A adult version of the nine year old girl that had disappeared 33 years ago. Then they were never heard from again... and then you show up here.." Fritz asked carefully. He stopped as Mayu turned white.

"What..." She gasped worried and she started to shake. The nightmare that had been bothering her for days now, suddenly flashed in the back of her mind, the scene of Harlock priced by her saber, made her sick to her stomach. Was it true? Had she killed him? Had she killed her stepfather as he had come to find her? Her mind became a complete mess and she dropped her glass on the floor. Seeing her shake like she now did, Fritz realised that something was very wrong. Steeping in front of her, she did not even look up, before he rested his hands to her shoulders. Knelling down to her, he looked her strait in the eyes.

"Easy Mayu, they are not dead. iIf they were Silvereye or one of the other wolfs would know. None of them would die so easy. You know that with in your own heart as well." Fritz said looking in to her eyes, his grey brown eyes shined with a determination that she knew so well from Harlock's single eye. She nodded slowly, feeling how her heart relaxed. Fritz smiled.

"Get some rest. We can talk about what to do tomorrow. It has been a long day, and too much has happened. I think we all could use a good nights sleep. Again she nodded and stood up.

"Fritz-san... I..." She stared to say. He shook his head slightly.

"Don't worry. Harlock would not have you worrying. Neither would my dad so don't. We'll figure it out together, that is what friends are for." He smiled and for the first time, Mayu smiled for real.

"Mhm." She nodded and stood up. "Kikan, my main computer is already looking into the files of the Deathshadow island. There might be a message there from my father, on where we can find them." She said showing her courage at last. Fritz nodded as Silvereye called glad.

--

A strange calmness seemed to lower its self over the Deathshadow island. A clam sort of joy as the island again were inhabited with pirate life. Fritz lay in his bed trying to sleep, he lay looking up into the roof of the captains room, listening. The crew of the Talon and the new crew of the Deathshadow, had been rampaging around in the island but now they seemed to be falling asleep. He lay wondering about Mayu. She had refused a room in the island and had gone back to her ship to rest. He lay wondering just what that made her react like she did, yet why she could not tell him what. He turned his head slightly and looked to the window, right below it Silvereye lay resting in a dog bed, sound asleep. His silver grey fur shining in the light.

_We have to find them. If not..._ He thought to himself but stopped his line of thought, as a voice spoke to him.

_"Didn't you just tell Mayu not to worry? How about following up on your own advices?"_ Silvereye asked. As Fritz turned his head to the bed again, the wolf had not moved. As he looked at him Silvereye lifted his head and looked at him. His silver grey eye shined in the dimmed light. Fritz smiled faintly.

"I should shouldn't I?" He sighed as he sat up. Silvereye moved carefully up to him and rested his head on the bed. Scathing Silvereye's ears, he smiled.

"I just hope we are not to late. A whole year has passed.." He muttered holding a hand to his head. " If who ever took Mayu back then, has also dad and the others now.. Seeing what they did to Mayu.. What's is happening to the others now?" He asked, cursing as he closed his fists. Silvereye whined.

"I still feel my Uncle's mind... I just cant get through to him or anyone else.." Fritz petted him over the head.

"It's okey Silvereye. I am sorry. You are trying your best. I cant ask any more of you." He smiled. The wolf whined but smiled faintly.

"Let's get some sleep, tomorrow we will find those clues we need and find them." Fritz said strongly as Silvereye jumped up beside him and they both fell asleep.

**Authors note:**

**So here it is, the fourth chapter. I was planing to make it longer but found out it worked like this.**

**Sorry for the long wait.**

**Next chapter will hopefully coming soon as well.**

**Ligthingtooth.**


	5. Chapter 5

The next day, Fritz wandered around on the island and could not help but smile as he saw the crews of the two ships got along so well. Some of them were playing games, others were swimming in the sea.

_"Feels a bit like it was before isn't it?" _Silvereye asked looking from his shoulder. Fritz nodded silently.

"Fritz-san!" Riki-ken called as he came running up to him.

"Is there something wrong?" Fritz asked feeling a needle of worry poke him. The young boy shook his head.

"I just wondered if Mayu- san told you anything last night." he said as little Harlock came up to them as well. Fritz shook his head.

"She has a sort of memory loss. Even if she really does know what has happened she can not remember it."

_"Don't worry, Mayu is gonna help us, and maybe under the way her memory comes back." _Silvereye said bringing back the hope to the two boys.

"But.. Does she not have a crew? I have not seen any of them." Riki-ken asked again.

"My crew is made up completely of androids my father made. They would not leave the ship even when I asked them." Mayu smiled as she came up to them. Fritz nodded.

" An android crew? That Tochiro- sama made?" Riki-ken's eyes shined. "Can I take a look?" He asked hopefully. Mayu was a bit surprised but smiled friendly.

"Sure. Rowa can show you around, just tell her that I had given you permission."

"Yeay!" The young boy called and ran down the way, before he stopped and turned.

"Are you coming Harlock?" He called. Little Harlock sighed and ran after his friend.

"Boys will be boys." Fritz smiled.

_"You were even worse when you were a kid."_ Laughed Silvereye, reminding him that he usually had followed any one, that did something special on board the Atlantis, learning about everything he could. It had given his father a bit of a migraine as he never knew where his son and pets were.

"I guess all children are like that... I used to race through the halls of the Arcadia when I was little as well." Mayu smiled.

"There is one thing I am wondering..." She said as they sat down on the soft grass. Fritz looked at her.

"You said your father wanted you to stay on Titan as back up..." She started to say but cut herself of. Fritz smiled.

"My father may believe that I did not know but, my father was always a bit to careful when it came to me. My father wanted me to stay on Titan in case it got dangerous. My father wanted me to stay safe." He smiled.

"I see." She smiled. "Like Harlock wanted me to stay on the Earth, my father loved so much." She smiled and looked over the island. They were sitting on a little hill that gave them a look out over the island.

"Your crew seems to enjoy themselves" She smiled and looked at the crews.

"Well this is one of the safe heavens for pirates after all." Fritz said as he leaned back on the tree behind him. Silvereye changed back to his wolf form and rested his head to Fritz stomach. Mayu looked at them and smiled faintly. She remembered how Lighting used to lay next to his master as they were visiting her.

"I had no idea the wolfs could change form... I never saw Lighting do that." She said and looked to Silvereye. The young wolf lifted his head and looked at her.

"There was most likely no need. Lighting never change unless there is a real reason for it. Me and my uncle stay mostly in our falcon forms to confuse the enemy, while my soul brother Mizu is in his true form." Silvereye said as he lifted his head and smiled at her.

"Another wolf I take it?" She smiled. Fritz nodded.

"Mizu stayed on the Wolf planet to wait to see when the leader would see something again, hopefully it be soon. I don't like having no clues about what has happened to them." Fritz said and clenched his fists over the wolf back. Silvereye whined low.

"What about your ship computer... You said something about scanning for anything that maybe we could not tap into." Silvereye asked Mayu, a little hope shined in his eyes.

"Not much I can tell you... Kikan is still looking into it. She said that she had found a log by the Arcadia's main computer, saying something about a old legend. Something about a black witch that used to steal children and never let them go." She said. She knew why Fritz paled a bit.

"Just like you and Pinoko... Yet I have heard that story. An old lady near were I used to live on earth, used to always say then I played to loud; don't make to much noise or you'll wake the dark spider woman. If you wake her then she will come for you, and capture you in her web and take you away, and you will never return." Fritz said looking hard on the grass, remembering that tale quite well.

_"Master..."_ Silvereye whispered in his head and he looked up. Mayu looked strait at him, yet he could see that she looked past him, like she was not there. Mayu saw a sort of memory in front of her, yet it was weak and clouded like it was just a memory if a dream, yet it was the name Pinoko that had triggered it.

In her mind, she saw herself besides another woman, she was around her age, maybe a few years older. She had red brown hair that reached down to her shoulders, she had a black ribbon in the hair on the right side of her hair. She was dressed in the same dress as she was, the same black dress with the red spider mark it that she had on in her nightmare. Both of them faced some targets some pace from them. Mayu was armed with her gun and the other girl was armed with some knifes. Both of them not missing their targets even once. Mayu could feel eyes on her back as their eyes were turned only to the targets.

"Good Pinoko, your aim is getting much better. Mayu, do not hesitate. Even if you hesitate for just a second to show your enemy mercy, they will kill you." A woman's voice said behind them. A voice she knew well.

"Mayu?" Fritz said and took a hand to her shoulder. Mayu jumped back to reality. Fritz jumped a bit as Mayu suddenly hang by his neck, as she shook and breathed hard.

"Mayu..." Fritz said and hugged her, realized how scared she was.

"What if my nightmares are real... What then." She whispered. Fritz noticed that she had not meant for him to hear it, yet he said nothing.

"Well well I would say we came at a bad time, or what do you think, Riki?" Little Harlock laughed, making both Fritz and Mayu jump away from each other. Silvereye could not help but chuckle to himself, as he saw the bashful faces on both his master as well as Mayu.

_"Shut up."_ Fritz growled to him alone.

"Whats wrong?" Mayu asked being the first to gather her wits. Yet she wondered just how bad that had looked since the two boys could not stop grinning.

"Nothing wrong... Just wondered what we should do now?" Little Harlock asked as they both sat down with them. Fritz leaned back a little and looked up at the fake sky over them.

"I am not sure... According to what Mayu found, Tochiro sr left a note about a old legend... Not sure what that means yet.." Fritz said.

"When was that note placed there then?" Riki asked quickly.

"Not long before they left, but nothing else." Mayu asked.

"Well it is one more piece for our puzzle and we have gotten a few more of the missing pieces, now we just need to piece them together." Silvereye sighed.

"Missing pieces... Missing piece.." Fritz suddenly said and looked strait at Mayu. "Of course! Silvereye you are a genius!" Fritz said and took hold of Silvereye's head and made him look strait at him.

"He is?" Riki asked confused.

"Silvereye, got hold of Mizu, tell him to head to the great leader again, and make a meting. Tell him to tell the leader we found the missing piece and we coming." Fritz said as he stood up.

"Okey..." Silvereye said not to sure what to make of his master's thinking.

"Irai, come in." Fritz called on his com link, his eyes shining.

"Yes captain."

"Make the ship ready and inform the others as well, we'll head to the Wolf Planet as soon as possible." Fritz ordered.

"Yes sir." Irai answered, for the first time since the great pirates had vanished had she heard such hope in her captain's voice again, so she rushed of to do as she was told hoping that they may finally have found the clue to finding them.

"I done as you asked.. But would you be so kind and explain just what is going on?" Silvereye asked, his face as confused as the others on that hill.

"Like I said before, Mizu stayed on Luviji to wait and see if the great leader would see something that could lead us to them..."

"The great leader can see into the future, past and present." Silvereye explained quickly as he realized Mayu, Little Harlock and Riki had not a clue what his master was on about.

"And he could not see anything. He said it was like darkness had swallowed them the only thing he did tell us was that he needed a missing piece, a light to light up the darkness." Fritz said walking back and forth.

"Now it only struck me when Silver just said it." Fritz said and turned his look over to Mayu. "You were that missing piece. The fact that you vanished first and now the others are missing before suddenly you reappear after a year."

"So what does that mean?" Riki asked, still not quite following.

"So if we take her to the leader, maybe he will see something..." Silvereye said as he finally followed his master.

"You said he could see the past as well." Little Harlock asked carefully. "Then he will maybe see something that can help you find your memory back again." He said looking to Mayu. She nodded carefully. She did not say anything or show it but remembering her nightmare as well as the day time nightmare she just had he feared just what did lay in her past.

"But what ever we may find we should head out now as soon as we can." Riki shined up. Both him and Little Harlock rushed back to their ship to get ready to leave.

"Don't worry Mayu. What ever we find, we will still help you." Fritz said as he lay an hand to her shoulder.

"Fritz-san, I..." She started to say but could not bring herself to tell him, that she may know of this Pinoko girl he spoke of before or that she might have killed Harlock.

"Just call me Fritz, you and me are about the same age. I wish Hiko and the other swords men were still with us. Hiko could perhaps have given you your memory back like he did before..."

"Who?" Mayu asked.

"Some old friends of ours. Had it not been for them.. I am not sure if any of us would have have still been alive..." Fritz smiled sad.

"What happened to them?" Mayu asked careful yet she regretted asking as she saw the pain in his eyes.

"I don't know... It happened right before Harlock, Father and the others vanished. It started with Hiko, and followed on down to his apprentice Kenshin and then to the others. One by one the sword masters fell into a sort of coma. It even affected the Pirate knight at the end. There is still no change in their contrition. It some sort of connection with the immortals and the great pirates disappearance." Fritz cursed angry.

"And it was not just the Sword masters but their guardians as well. Even my sister Silver on a different planet was effected, when her soul sister passed out." Silvereye said worried.

"Then what could have happened?" Mayu asked as they were now walking back to the ships.

"The only immortal not affected was Black Jack, and even as good doctor as he is could not understand it... He went with Harlock on that fateful day and also vanished." Fritz said, not really looking anywhere.

"Black Jack... Where have I heard that before.." She said thinking to herself.

"Black Jack is a renown mercenary doctor... I would not be surprised if you have heard of him." Fritz said smiling at her. Mayu nodded, yet why did the image of the woman from her back flash show up in her head...

"Well just set your ship to the coordinates I give you and we will be on Luviji soon enough. It would seem like things are finally looking up, at least now that you are here." Fritz smiled and nodded to her, before he left to his ship again. Mayu smiled faintly to him and walked into the Princess Mayu again.

--

A hour after take of from the Deathshadow island, Mayu were sitting in her captain's room by herself. She had a glass of wine in her hand and were looking at the picture of her Mother and father.

_"We are on course now, captain."_ Kikan said to her in her head. Mayu smiled. She had not been surprised that Kikan already had the coordinates to the wolf planet, and that the ship was ready from the second they got the message from Irai.

"Thank you, but Kikan." Mayu said with a sigh.

_"Yes?"_ The ship asked.

"Please, at least you, can you just use Mayu?" Mayu looked into the roof.

_"Okey, Mayu."_ The ship answered.

"Kikan, do you ever dream?" Mayu asked as she looked into her glass.

_"Dream?"_ Kikan asked confused.

"Yeah. Like did you dream while you where shut down after my father was done building you? During those years you waited?" Mayu asked standing up and moved over to the window. She could see the Deathshadow sailing next to her ship.

_"No, I do not dream during the time I am shut down, but I do know about dreams."_ Kikan answered.

"Then tell me, what would you do if your worst nightmare could prove be reality?" Mayu asked looking out. There was a long silence.

_"I would do my best to change it. Even if that would prove to be impossible, then I would do my best to do the best out of it." _Kikan said. Mayu nodded.

"I suppose so..." She said as her mind trailed of back to the dream like memory and the young Pinoko and the voice in her memory. The voice made it go cold down her back, as she sensed the evil with in it, but the fact that scared her, was the fact that she felt safe hearing it. She growled to herself forcing the memory back and focused on the mission ahead of her, not knowing what else this journey would bring.

**Author's note:**

**I am so sorry it took so damned long to get this chapter done. I ran into a serious block that did not loosen up until a few days ago. but here it is. and again I planed to make this longer and have what will be the next chapter in here but I feared it would be to long. anyway hope you liked it.**

**Ligthingtooth.**


	6. Chapter 6

Some hours later, the three ships had arrived to where the coordinates, yet there was nothing to be seen.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Little Harlock asked over the com. Fritz smiled.

"Wait and see." He only said, and just as he had said it, a very large gate opened up before them.

"Luviji is a planet hidden from the rest of the universe. The gate will only open to ships that have a Luvijian on board or if the ship have someone with a very special fate." Fritz said as he lead the way through the gate.

On the other side Mayu was amazed seeing the little planet with five different colored moons around it. The planet looked so peace full and welcoming, she was glad to see it. She often heard Lighting tell about his home world and how alike it was the Earth.

As the three ships came in for a landing in the clearing in the Forest land there was no one to be seen.

Fritz sighed as they came out of the ships and saw the light of a rising sun.

"Whats wrong?" Mayu asked coming up to him.

"We just arrived at a bad time. The sun is coming up." Fritz said and nodded to the sun rise.

"And that is bad?" Riki-ken asked as him and Little Harlock moved up to them as well. Yet none of them saw it when something jumped up on the Talon and move closer to them.

_"When you are in the night land it is. All of the night land goes to sleep as the sun rises, since the days are shorter here than in the other three lands. They get more done in the night hours than in the day hours."_ Silvereye sent trying to explain it as simple as possible.

"So now what?" Riki asked looking to Fritz.

"There are always some one that is awake, I..." More he did not get to say when he was thrown into the ground. Landing hard on his stomach, forced down by the weigh of his attacker, and yet before any of the others managed to react, the attacker was thrown of him by Silvereye that had changed midair and used that to slam into the attacker. The two of them now rolling around in the grass in a brown and gray ball of fur.

Mayu aimed her gun to them and looked at them wide eyed. She had believed that Luviji was a welcoming place and had never believed the great wolfs would turn on them. Little Harlock also had his gun drawn as he and Riki moved over to Fritz that stood up. He smiled to Little Harlock and Riki-ken. As he stood fully up, he rested a hand to Mayu's shoulder startling her to look at him. He smiled as he used his other hand to lower her gun.

"It's okey." He said and looked back at the battle in front of them. None of the wolf's were giving an inch to the other, before Fritz whistled loudly. The two wolfs stopped and looked at him, panting. As they had stopped one could now see that the other wolf looked to be the same age as Silvereye, that now was panting hard, his silver grey fur standing on all ends. The new wolf was tawny-brown with black paws and dark blue eyes. Then the new wolf barked and jumped over Fritz again quickly followed by Silvereye. Mayu and the other two just barely had the chance to move out of the way before Fritz were struck to the ground and given and overhaul licking to his face, very helped by Silvereye.

"Okey, okey.. cool it." Fritz manged to gasp in between the laughing, something that made Little Harlock and Riki-ken laugh pretty hard and Mauy had to stifle a slight chuckle of her own. Yet it did not go unpassed Fritz that she laughed and thought to himself

_Finally we made her laugh a little._ The two wolfs finally ended their little reunion and let their master up. As Fritz stood up, he petted both wolfs over the head and smiled to his friends.

"Little Harlock, Riki-ken.. Mayu, this is my other guardian, Mizu." The brown wolf lowered his head in respect looking at both Little Harlock as well as Mayu.

"Welcome to Luviji." Mizu smiled.

"So what news do you have for us?" Fritz asked not wasting any more time.

"Not much I am afraid. When I told the great leader that you were bringing the missing piece, he asked me to wait til he sent for us.. I am afraid all we can do is wait." Mizu sighed. Fritz nodded yet bit his lip.

"And the swordsmen?" He asked yet the look Mizu gave him was enough of an answer.

"No change." The wolf said. His face pained with both fear and worry. Mayu looked to Fritz and the stone face he had put up to hide his feelings, but his eyes could not lie. She saw again the same pain and worry for his friends that seemed to have left him all to fast.

"So what to we do in the meantime?" Little Harlock asked, both looking to the wolfs and their master.

"There is a place made ready for you and your crews, but you better go to sleep or something, there will be nothing happening in the night land as the sun is up, unless you want to take the short trip over to one of the other lands." Mizu said and nodded to one of the bridges that they could see from where they were standing.

"Luviji is a safe place and if you get lost, it's just to ask for help." Silvereye said looking to the crews of the ships that were coming out. He said it mostly to them and as they got a nod from Fritz some of them headed over to the bridge.

"This way then." said Mizu and lead them towards the city known as Moonlight city.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some hours later some of the crews had returned, others were having to much fun to sit still. Mayu moved silently through the house they were in. The house was silent as every one inside it were asleep apart from her. She too had been asleep when the nightmare had returned and she had found herself bolting up from the bed, panting hard. Her hands started to shake as she thought of it again.

_Again the same dream, again the same horrid stench of blood on my hands. Will I ever be free of my fear?_ She asked herself as she walked on. she stopped as she came to the room Fritz had layed down in. The door where half way open and as she looked in, she saw him asleep in his bed with Silvereye in one arm and Mizu in the other. She smiled as she moved on down stairs and outside into the sunlight.

_They seem so tied together. Who knows how long they have been apart..._ She thought for herself and yet only managed to remind herself over how alone she was, even withing her own head. She was a stranger to herself. She had no idea or even thought about where she was going. Her feet was only following the road, as she thought about what she did remember and what she did not, what she had been told that she had no memories of.

She stopped as she suddenly had come to the roads end and realized that she was far from the nigth land. Around her were a white snow clad field, the road was made of what could remind her of colored glass, that shined in the sunlight. In front of her was what looked like an old cabin, a fireplace in front with some logs to sit at, and something she guessed was an old oven, stood in front of it. The the walls she could see a cloth liner some shirts hang on it.

_So humans live here?_ She thought to herself, moving closer to the door.

_It looks so deserted..._ She thought for herself as she dared to move in to the hut it self, yet had to stifle a scream as she looked in.

On the floor of the hut lay some bundles that in the light of the windows where shaped as humans. It reminded her of pictures she had seen of old Egyptian mummies. there was also some shaped like what she guessed were wolfs and some other stange ones she had no idea what had once been. She dared not to move as she looked over them from where she stood, her mind as frozen as her body.

"It's not as bad as it looks." A female voice said behind her. "They are still alive." Mayu turned and saw a wolf about Silvereye and Mizu's age, she guessed a little younger. Mayu was frozen to the ground again, but this time out of a different reason. The young wolf in front of her were identical to Lightingtooth and his son Fang. The same markings of black and lighter black fur, but she had a white mark shaped as a star across her forehead that shined in the black fur. The wolf smiled a sad smile and her dark blue eyes nearly hypnotized Mayu so familiar they where.

"I came by to to see if there was any change.." The wolf said. "But it has been no change since they passed out a year ago.." The wolf moved past her, not even reacting to the look Mayu had on her face.

"Had it not been for the Wolf riders and their Preservers... I am not sure we could have kept them alive for so long." The wolf kept on talking, yet Mayu didn't not understand much of what she said. Mayu did not know why, yet she bent down and touched one of the mummy like bundles, and pulled her hand back quickly as for a second there it felt like the body beneath it had moved, yet the bundle lay still as she looked at it.

"You look a little jumpy.. Are you okey?" The wolf asked looking strait at Mayu. She sort of shook and then nodded as like she did not know herself, whether she was okey or not. Mayu looked back at the young wolf and looked in to those all to familiar eyes.

"Who are you?" Mayu dared herself to ask. At this the wolf gave her a brite smile.

"I am named Shiro-hoshi, but everyone just calls me Hoshi. My name means..." The wolf started before Mayu finished her line.

"White Star." Mayu said looking into the floor.

"You speak Japanse?" The wolf asked both surprised and glad.

"I was raised in Japan. I am Mayu Oyama" Mayu said short, not really wanting to think that most of her life was away from the earth or something like that.

"How come you have a Japanse name?" Mayu asked, shaking of her sadness, yet not knowing how well the young wolf had felt her sadness.

"Tochiro Jr named me, when I was barely a cub... yet that will not be my final name, I think.." Hoshi said looking around.

"Why not?" Mayu asked and looked at the young wolf confused. "Tochiro is not my true master. Dad told me that I would know who my true master is when I met him or her." Hoshi said and there was a trace of sadness in her eyes. Mayu's eyes narrowed.

"Then who is your parents?" She asked yet as she had a pretty good idea of who it could be.

"I am the younger daughter of Lightingtooth and Angel. Fang is my older brother." The wolf forced out a smile but her eyes told the tale of the sorrow with in.

"You miss them don't you?" Mayu asked and turned away. Knowing that she may have been the reason why Harlock and the others had left, and had there by left their friends in this sorry mummified state, made it hard for her to met this young wolfs eyes. As she turned and walked out Hoshi followed her.

"Sure I do, but they will come back, I know they will." Hoshi smiled good natured. Mayu looked at her confused.

"How can you be so sure? What if something terrible has happened?" She asked her voice quivering just a hint as again her nightmare flashed in the back of her mind.

"Because they are the most feared in the entire universe. None of them or their masters will be that easy to bring down. It's really that simple." Hoshi smiled as she moved up in front of her. Mayu dropped down on one of the logs in front of the hut. The nightmare seemed even clearer right now and yet hearing Hoshi's words of true trust to her family, made her force the nightmare behind her. Mayu manged a smile and petted Hoshi over the head.

"You are right. I need to have more faith in them. There is no way that they are dead and gone forever." She said and smiled showing a new growing strength in her that reminded of her mother' s renowned mental strength.

"Glad to hear that." Fritz suddenly said as he and his two guardians came up the way to the hut. Mayu stood up and smiled faintly to Fritz.

"Have there been any change, Hoshi?" Mizu asked. The young female shook her head.

"None yet." She said, and surprised Mayu further with how all around happy she was, even with her whole family missing and her other friends either missing or mummified.

_A complete opposite of me. I worry and blame it on on myself and she only belies in the strength that lies with in everyone._ Mayu found herself thinking, as she looked at the young Wolf. Fritz noticed this and smiled.

"I see you two have already hit the tone with each other." He smiled as he moved quickly into the hut to have a look. Mayu and Hoshi looked at each other, and as Hoshi grinned, Mayu could not hide her own smile. Some how Hoshi seemed to make her forget about the bad dreams and fears she had. As Fritz came back out he looked at her and sat down on a log opposite of Mayu that sat down again as well.

"We woke up and found you gone, I was beginning to get worried where you had gone." Fritz said yet Silvereye looked up at him and lifted a sort of wolf eyebrow at the statement.

"Beginning master? You were nearly frantic." He said yet had to duck as Fritz tried to make him shut up. Mizu chuckled at the face Fritz sat up, yet Mayu only shook her head.

"I'm sorry to have worried you, I just could not sleep anymore." She said with a faint smile.

"Because of your nightmares?" Fritz tried carefully, looking at her. Mayu looked at him, her eyes more sad than he had ever seen them before and he regretted asking.

"You don't need to answer if you don't want to. Just know that I am here to listen if you need it." Fritz said and gave her a way out. Mayu just nodded, she was far from ready to tell Fritz about the dream. Then suddenly Mizu lifted his head and looked at his master.

"The great leader is calling us. We should get going." He said. Fritz nodded as he stood up and looked to Mayu again. Once again she looked lost in her own thoughts and seemed so sad.

"Come on Mayu, lets go see what the Great leader has seen. I am sure he knows where we can find everyone." Hoshi said standing in front of Mayu, her tail waving. Mayu just smiled a faint smile, and nodded as she too stood up. Fritz lead the way away from the hut of the swordsman that had taken up resistance there a long time ago, and still remained in the hut it self with his friends and companions.

_"It looks like it did her some good to met Hoshi.."_ Silvereye sent to his master and soul brother. Fritz nodded faintly.

_"To the both of them. I did not want to say anything.. but Hoshi was more and more going silent. You came at the right time. It had been two days since I last heard her speak at all."_ Mizu said and looked up at his master worried.

_"No wonder with all that's been going on." _Fritz said and looked over his shoulder to Mayu and Hoshi. Mayu seemed to have pulled back from the dark world she seemed to go into from time to time, and smiled faintly, as Hoshi jumped around her feet telling about the great leader.

_I can only pray that the great leader has some good news for us, for all our sakes._ He thought for himself, as he still worried about what it seemed Mayu could not bring herself to tell him.

**Author's note:**

**Okey so here is the newest chapter of missing pirates. Sorry it took so long but this would not play making me, running into multiple writers blocks along the way.**

**Hope this made some sense and I promise that the next chapter will finally give some answers to what has happened to the others.**

**Feel free to tell me how I did.**

**Lightingtooth. **


	7. Chapter 7

Two young black furred Night land wolfs were heading back home over the bridge from the Great Leaders Island. Both of them, just a year older than Hoshi and yet two years younger than Silvereye. What was special about these two wolfs were the fact that they were identical, they had the same markings of lighter black fur and dark blue eyes like their father. It would have been hard to tell them apart except for the fact, that their right ear were white marked. The marking on the ears were different on the two of them. The first of them had a sort of X mark and the other an O mark on the back side of the ear.

Both of them were silent and the worry was clear to see on their faces.

"It has been almost a year... and still no sign of anyone.." The x marked wolf said. "I hope dad is unharmed.."

"Yeah... Mother has hardly been eating since they disappeared. If something does not change soon, we may have to have the preservers protect her.." The other one answered, not looking at his brother.

"And since they disappeared, the great leader has not been able to see anything." The x marked wolf said cursing.

"As well as any other seer..." His brother answered, when suddenly both of them stopped and listened.

"The Great Leader is calling for the pirates to come to his island? Is he calling for Fritz? Has he come back?" The o marked wolf asked confused.

"But that was a private sending to Mizu... Why did we hear it?" His brother asked and looked around. He found his answer pretty soon, as he suddenly saw two young human boys sitting at a bench.

"I don't know.. but that suit on that one.. He must be one of the pirates." The x marked wolf said and looked at his brother, that nodded. The two wolfs hurried over to the two boys.

As soon as they got up to them, they could see the scar across Little Harlock's cheek.

"Excuse me.. but you are one of the Harlocks right?" The x marked wolf asked carefully. Little Harlock nodded, looking at the two wolfs in front of him.

"Then you should head to the Leader's island as soon as you can. The Great Leader is calling for Fritz." The other wolf said.

"He is? Does that mean he has seen something?" The other boy asked.

"We don't know.. I don't even know why we heard his call, but follow us. We just came from the island, we'll show you the way there." The o marked wolf said and smiled friendly.

"Thanks." Little Harlock said, as he and Riki stood up. As they started to follow the wolfs towards the bridge over to the island, Harlock noticed the markings on their ears.

"I'm sorry, I did not introduce ourselves, I am Franklin Harlock, or Little Harlock as I am also called. I am the youngest son of Captain Harlock. This is my friend Riki-ken, son of Kai Oyama and Kei Yuki." He said and pointed to himself and his friend. The two wolfs nodded as as they looked at them.

"Honored to met you. Me and my brother are the sons of Mind and Snow Tail. I wish I had a name to give you that you can say but.." The x marked wolf sighed.

"You can say we have not been around to much humans of late..." The o marked wolf said.

"You are Mind's cubs?" Riki asked surprised. The two wolfs nodded.

"Well, we need to be able to call you something... Hmmm. Those markings on your ears, they remind me of the pieces of the game Tic Tac Toe.. So how about Tic Tac?" Little Harlock said, and pointed to the x marked wolf first and then to the o marked one. The two wolfs looked at each other and nodded.

"Tic and Tac.. I like it." The o marked wolf smiled, now named Tac. Little Harlock smiled as he saw that both wolfs stood and looked at them, smiling while waging their tails. Riki laughed low for himself.

Tic smiled and bowed his head. "Thank you, Harlock. You don't know how much this means to us." Tac also bowed his head down.

"Wow, hey. No sweat, but I think we should get going to the castle... The others will be waiting." Little Harlock said, feeling a little strange with the two teenage wolfs bowing to him. The two wolfs nodded and lead on as they finally go to the other side of the bridge.

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A little while later Fritz, Mayu and the three wolfs had arrived at the courtyard of the castle. Mayu looked around surprised at the castle in front and around her. The courtyard was floored with polished brown rock. The walls of the castle were made by the same stone as the buildings in the Night land. The windows were made of the crystals she had seen the Snow land roads were made of. The roof were made by dark green marmor tiles, and she could see other decor made in the same green marmor and brown polished rock.

"It's great isn't it?" Hoshi asked next to her, smiling as she saw how dazzled Mayu was.

"The brown stones comes from the Cliff land, the green marmor from the Twilight land, the crystals from the Snow land and the moon stones comes from the Night land. This castle is part of all four lands." Hoshi said smiling up at Mayu.

Fritz stood leaned up against a wall with his arms crossed over his chest. Silvereye sat next to him as Mizu were over by the gate, talking to one of the guards.

Mizu returned quickly to Fritz and Mayu.

"No good... The Leader said that all of the Pirate leaders had to be here." He said worried.

"Meaning that we need to find Little Harlock and Riki..." Fritz said worried.

"but that will take time... We dont know where they went. They had left when we woke up. We cant go looking over all Luviji for them." Silvereye said worried.

"So what to we do now?" Mayu asked looking at Fritz. He shook his head. He was not sure what to do now. They needed to see the Great Leader as soon as they could... but where could those two have headed of to?

Then suddenly Little Harlock and Riki came through the gate with two black wolfs by their sides.

"Twins!" Hoshi called glad as she saw them. The two wolfs smiled as they saw them and Little Harlock and the others hurried over to them.

"Perfect timing. We were almost gonna start looking for you two." Fritz said glad.

"Thank Tic and Tac here for letting us know that the Leader was calling, and showing us the way here." Riki said and pointed to the two wolfs.

"Tic Tac?" Silvereye said surprised, and looked to his cousins.

"Hm, Harlock named us." Tac said glad. Hearing this Fritz could not help but to smile.

"Well then. Now that we are all here. Let's not keep the Great Leader waiting." He said and lead the way up to the gate.

As they started to walk, Mayu hesitated and looked worried and lost. She did not look forward to meting this Leader that could see into her past. What if he saw something that would confirm what she feared the most? She jumped as she suddenly felt something nudge her hand. Looking surprised down, she looked strait at Hoshi. The young wolf smiled, her eyes were soft as silk as she looked at her, her white mark shined like a star in her black fur.

"Let's go, Mayu. Time to find our family's again. They have been gone for long enough." She smiled and nudged her arm again. Mayu smiled faintly. Again it seemed like Hoshi's mood were growing on her and made her force her fears back.

"Hm, let's go." She smiled and followed after the others, yet Fritz noticed that she held a hand to Hoshi's head as she came up to the gate.

-----

The inside of the castle was just as great, or maybe even greater than the outside. The widows changed the light from the sun outside and colored the room's walls in all the colors of the rainbow, and the walls seemed to take up the color and glow. The floor was made out of the green marmor, and the support beans where a mix of the green marmor and the brown rock. The room was also lighted up by some chandeliers hanging in the room. The thing about the chandeliers were the fact that there was no flame or any thing normal, giving out the light but the very stones it was made out of.

"The chandeliers are made out of glow stone from the Cliffland. The darker the room, the stronger they glow." Tic whispered to Riki, as he asked how that was possible.

They stood now in front of a small stair leading up to two great thrones. The stair was made of the brown stone, the final step in the green marmor and the throne was made in the moon stone, highly decorated in the crystals. Behind the throne four banners hung. The first was a white banner with a silver wolf that was running. Over the wolf there was a silver crystal mark. The second banner was black with a white wolf head that howled. Above the head there was a white crescent moon. The third banner was grey with a brown wolf's head and two cloud marks. Above the wolf head there was a brown cloud sown in. The fourth and final banner was brown with a black wolf standing at a cliff. The mark above the wolf was a simple black triangle.

"The markings above the wolfs are the markings Luvijian Knights wear around their paws. It shows witch land you are sworn to." Tac said low before anyone could ask.

It was then a door at the side opened and a white wolf marked with silver markings came through it. He was quickly followed by a black wolf with the same markings, only his was golden. Then another door opened on the other side and a young grey female with the same markings only green came through it. Following the marked wolfs came from the right hand side, a male wolf and the left a female wolf. What was special with these two, that took Mayu's breath away, was the strong difference between them and all the other Luvijians she had seen up til now. Both of them were white with brown, black and grey spots all over them. They reminded her of the castle as they too seemed to be made out of parts of all the four lands as well. Yet the strongest difference between the Leaders and the common Luvijian, was the way they moved and acted. There was something clearly royal, about the way they moved up to their thrones and sat down, and that not in a pompous sort of way, more like it just came natural to them. Behind the male leader followed a brown female with blue markings like the others, and behind the female leader a white male with purple markings.

"That's the Great leaders body guards, the Moon Squad." Hoshi whispered low as they took their places around the throne. The silver marked wolf by the right side of the male leader, the blue by the left side of the female leader. The purple marked wolf sat in front of the stairs, in front of the pirates, as the green marked one sat on the right side of the stairs and the gold marked one by the left.

"Welcome back, Fritz." The Great Leader said, and even his voice sounded strong, kind and great. Fritz took a hand to his chest and bowed as Silver and Mizu bowed as well.

"Let me introduce my friends, Little Harlock, Captain Harlock's youngest son and his best friend Riki-ken, also the son of Kai Oyama." Fritz said. Little Harlock and Riki followed it up by doing as Fritz did and bowed. The two wolfs on the thrones nodded.

"Good job, Tic Tac. I feared you would not understand at first." The two teen wolfs jumped as the queen said this, yet bowed quickly.

"Has your visions came back?" Tac asked carefully, surprised that the leaders already new their new names.

"Some of it." She said and then said nothing more. After a few seconds of silence. Fritz cleared his throat.

"And this is Mayu Oyama. The daughter of Tochiro Oyama and Emeraldas, the step child of Captain Harlock." He said, casting a look over to her. Mayu bowed her head, as well did Hoshi, yet she hesitated to met the leader's eyes. As she did, she was was met by the softest kindest look she had seen in a long time.

"Welcome, Mayu." The leader said kindly, before he turned his look back at Fritz.

"I know that you are anxious on learning what has happened, and where you can find your family's, but understand that there is still a strong block against our visions. Our vision is still pretty useless." He said and his eyes took a sad light to them. Little Harlock looked surprised and looked over to Fritz as to ask what now?

Fritz looked into the stair hard, as his face had grown grim yet again.

"We can not see anything when we try to find them or what happened to them." The Leader said with his head low. Mayu realized that the leaders felt so useless to their people without their visions.

"Yet it would seem that your return does indeed have something to do with all of this, Mayu." The queen said and looked strait at her. Mayu backed of frightened and once again the nightmare flashed in her mind.

"When I look at you and at your past..." She started to say, yet closed her eyes and shivered. "I see a black and red spider..." Mayu looked frightened and her hands shook.

"What.." She whispered. Fritz looked at her and felt bad for her, as he saw how scared she was.

"This spider... Could it have something to do with that old legend of the spider woman?" he asked and looked to the Leader. The wolf king looked at him and nodded.

"Solving this riddle is your job, young leader of the Pirate clan." The wolf leader smiled at the young man. It was then Fritz realized that by all rights, he was now the leader of their little band of Pirates. He nodded slowly.

"We have on another hand seen one thing." The queen wolf said and looked at them, her eyes turned warm and kind once more.

"Another piece for your puzzle, but also the clue you may be searching for.. That would be up to you to find out." The leader smiled. Fritz looked at the king, his eyes narrowed.

"There is someone that has traveled this space for ages. One that the journey is never ending for. She may know about this spider." The queen said and her smile widened as she saw how Fritz eyes opened at those words.

"Thank you." He said his eyes shining in hope. The others looked at him a bit confused.

"You should get going as soon as you can. I can feel time is starting to run out." the Leader said and looked at them all.

"Good luck, and may the Eternal one be on your side." The queen said smiling to them. Everyone bowed their heads and left the great hall of the Great leader.

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A little while later Fritz, Mayu, Little Harlock, Riki and the wolfs stood at the bridge of the Talon.

"So what now?" Riki asked looking at Fritz that were pushing a good few of buttons.

"I am trying to find out what would be the best point to met the Three-nine." he said, not looking at them.

"You mean it was Maetel the leader spoke of? The wanderer?" Little Harlock asked. Fritz nodded, as he pushed in the last buttons. The screen jumped to life and showed a red line jumping from planet to planet.

"Good.. By the looks of it we should manage to met the Three-nine at one of these planets here." He said and pointed to a group of planets.

"Would it not be easier to just stop it before that?" Riki asked.

"To stop the train, is easy enough, but it would be easier to talk to Maetel with out getting into to much trouble at a planet, and there is one planet were the military will not be looking for us."

"You mean there master?" Silvereye asked and looked at him from his shoulder. Fritz nodded and looked to one planet in particular.

"Little Harlock, Mayu, are your ships ready to go?" he asked looking at them. Mayu nodded.

"I just need to gather the crew, that's all." he smiled. Fritz nodded.

"Good do it. As soon as your crews are back and all is ready we head out." He said and took his place as the leader. Little Harlock and Riki nodded and ran out to gather the crew, closely followed by Tic and Tac as well. Irai was also out on the same mission. Fritz turned and saw how Mayu looked a little worried.

"Dont worry, Maetel will help us." He said and smiled to her. Then he realized why she looked confused.

"Maetel is your mother's twin sister. She has traveled on the three-nine for a very long time, I am sure she knows something." He said and took and hand to her shoulder. Mayu looked even more worried. She had an Aunt she did't even know about. how much did she not know about her family? she wondered. Yet the kind smile Fritz had, made her relax a bit. She nodded and smiled faintly at him.

"Don't worry Mayu, I'll protect you." Hoshi barked smiling making Mayu look down at her.

"That much I don't doubt." Fritz laughed, and smiled and Mayu. "Don't even try and talk her out of it. You will lose the argument anyway. She is not of the kind to take no for an answer." He smiled. Mayu looked down at Hoshi again and smiled.

"I could use the company." She smiled and stroked Hoshi over the head. Fritz smiled to himself and cast a look over to his own guardians.

_"Hoshi, Tic and Tac all have found their master at long last, I doubt that they know it yet themselves." _He muttered low to them. The others just nodded. All three of the glad that their friends would be well guarded, and yet they did not know how much they would need their help in just a short while..

**Author's note. **

**Here is the next part as promised.**

**More fun coming up and very soon we will reach the end of this long tale.**

**Feel free to tell me how I did.**

**Ligthingtooth**


	8. Chapter 8

It was not long after that the Talon took of first followed by the Death Shadow before the Princess Mayu followed behind.

Mayu and Hoshi entered the ship just before departure.

"We have received the coordinates from the Talon. should we enter them?" Rowa asked.

"Aah, and stay beside the Talon during the journey. I'll enter the bridge shortly." Mayu said and for the first time really sounded like the captain of the ship.

Rowa bowed and hurried to the bride already giving the orders to the ship.

"She has no real smell, only metal. is she?" Hoshi asked worried from Mayu's side, looking after Rowa.

"A mech human? No Rowa and the rest of the crew are all androids my father build." Mayu smiled as she walked after Rowa calmly.

"Android?" Hoshi asked confused.

"Completely build from scratch. Father would have never let a mech human run my ship. That much I know." Mayu smiled. somehow even as she was not very well know about her ship yet, there were a lot of parts she had yet to see herself, she felt more comfortable to talk about it to Hoshi.

"This is the bridge." Mayu smiled as the large door slide up. The bride was not to unlike the Queen Emeraldas, understandable as Toshiro had used it for a base for the Princess Mayu. Mayu sat down in the chair as Hoshi sniffed around and looked at the androids and the rest of the ship.

_"Welcome back Mayu."_ Kiran said. _"I hope your stay was productive?"_

"You can say that." Mayu smiled as she saw Hoshi jump at the sound of the voice and then as she looked around confused.

"Wow, the ship can talk. Cool!" Hoshi barked exited. Mayu began to laugh.

"Hoshi, Kiran is the soul of the ship." Mayu smiled.

_"Very glad to met you Hoshi."_ Kiran said with glee in her voice.

"Same to you Kiran." Hoshi barked waving her tail. Nothing seemed to take her spirits away.

"We are on the course now, captain." The navigator said.

"How long before we will arrive?" Mayu asked as Hoshi lay down beside her chair, a place that she would never leave again.

"After entering warp space about five hours and 3 minutes captain." The navigator stated calmly. Mayu nodded.

"Captain, the Talon is calling us." Another android said.

"Put him on." Mayu said and looked to to the ceiling screen. Fritz appeared before them and the screen split showing that Little Harlock were also present in the conversation.

"You guys ready?" Fritz smiled his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes shining slightly. There was something about Fritz' pose that reminded Mayu of captain Harlock back when he was still tricking Kiruta over and over again. Remembering the look and seeing it in Fritz' eyes now, made it clear that he was a Harlock by blood and also that he had been perhaps around Harlock a little to much. She smiled.

"The princess Mayu is only waiting you signal." Hoshi looked up at her and silently saw how the look in Mayu's blue eyes seemed to hold the same fire as her Mother had. Something Hoshi had not noticed before.

"the Death Shadow is a go." Little Harlock said and stood like Young Harlock done years before on the bridge of the Deathshadow. Their family's blood seemed to boil in their veins as they knew that were on a hot trail at long last. It seemed like their lost parents were standing beside them and behind them and gave them the strength to keep searching.

"Then enter warp." Fritz ordered.

"Perhaps you should get some sleep?" Hoshi asked carefully, seeing how tired Mayu seemed to grow a few hour's into the trip.

"I am fine.. I cant get any sleep any how." Mayu said and petted Hoshi's head as the wolf placed her head in her lap.

"Why not?" Hoshi asked looking up at her.

"I been having some really bad nightmares when ever I fall asleep." Mayu said and looked away.

_"My records say that you mother used to enter the hover bath when she needed to rest her mind. Perhaps that will help?"_ Kiran asked carefully.

"Hover bath?" Mayu asked and sat up a little.

_"Yes you father build one in.. I can have Rowa show you the way and how it works if you want to."_ Kiran said.

"It's worth a shot." Hoshi smiled.

"aah, guess your right." Mayu said and stood up.

"This way captain." Rowa said and led them down the halls not to far from Mayu's room.

"Right in here.." Rowa said and entered. The room itself was simple. A round large room with some sort of device in the middle of it. There seemed to be a drain in the middle of the plate of the device and there was another at the plate above it.

"This is.." Mayu asked walking around it.

"Let me show you." Rowa said and activated it. Water quickly rushed in from the top and bottom.

"Oh cool!" Hoshi barked and ran up to it, but as it gathered enough water a sort of force field kicked in and gathered the water into a round bobble sort of hovering in between the two plates. Hoshi who had been to curious had leaned over the plates just as the force field kicked in and got trapped inside the bobble.

"Hoshi!" Mayu called frightened but then suddenly Hoshi began to laugh.

_"It' tickles."_ She sent to Mayu's mind, before she began to spin herself around inside the bobble laughing.

"How can she breathe in there?" Mayu asked and touched the bobble. it only made ripples but did not burst.

"There is air bobbles that you breathe in under the water that keeps you from drowning." Rowa answered calmly.

"Oh." Mayu only said and then giggled as she saw Hoshi now had been spinning so quickly she was dizzy, kinda just floating inside it shaking her head.

_"You got to try this."_ Hoshi sent smiling her wolf smile.

"Okey. I'll try." She smiled. "Anything is better than to sleep and have to relive that nightmare again..." Mayu thought silently.

"Yes captain." Rowa said and deactivated the bobble. The water slowly breaking out of the force field and then Hoshi could stand on the plate again. Hoshi shook the water of her fur, grinning like an idiot when she realized she had manged to make everything else wet in the proses including her new master and Rowa.

"Ops.. old habit.. sorry." Hoshi grinned. Mayu just sort of glaring at her before she began to laugh softly.

"You can change over here, captain." Rowa said and showed Mayu a change room.

"Okey.." Mayu said suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable about changing with Rowa and Hoshi there. but then again Rowa was an android and Hoshi a wolf.. Mayu entered the room and undressed covering herself with towel that lay ready for her in there.

"Yosh.." Mayu said and walked out as she loosened her hair from the hair band. her sea blue hair fell down behind her. Mayu carefully stepped up on the plate and sat down as Rowa suggested, resting her head against her knees after removing the towel.

"Is there any special effect you want out of the bath? To make you relaxed and clam or awake and energized?" Rowa asked pushing some buttons.

"Relaxed if possible." Mayu said growing a bit nevus again.

"Yes captain. I am gonna put the water on now." Rowa said and pushed some more buttons. Light green colored water began to flow out from the sides of the plates above and under Mayu.

"Making bobble. try to stay still during the first time captain." Rowa said calmly. Mayu took a deep breath and held it feeling and hearing the machine began to hum. The water level began to rise covering her more and more as she was slowly lifted by the force field. Soon the water was to her neck and she tried to lift her head higher.

_"Try to relax."_ Hoshi reminded her. _"It's not dangerous, trust me." _Hoshi smiled and was glad she had gone first. Mayu nodded and lowered her head under it allowing the water to fill the bobble. A few seconds later she found herself floating inside a bobble of water.

"Call me if you need anything." Rowa said and took her leave. It was around that time that the air in her lungs were spent and she didn't remember what Rowa had said.

_"You can not drown, Mayu just breathe through your nose."_ Kiran said suddenly making Mayu jump enough to take a breath. As she realized she could really breathe under the special water, she relaxed again. Hoshi lay just beside her. Her head on her paws already sleeping. Mayu smiled swinging gently inside the bobble.

_"So peaceful she is. Even with all that has been going on. She still finds her sleep._ Mayu thought and wondered if she would ever be able to sleep soundly again. She shook her head_. "I am not gonna think about that right now. I am going to relax now. I am going to need my strength for what's up a head." _Mayu swore to herself and tried to take her mind of her problems. After a while she fell into a calm trace and seemed to finally find some rest again.

For some time both Hoshi and Mayu seemed to rest but then Hoshi woke up to the feeling that something was wrong. She looked around and saw that Mayu was struggling screaming under water and filling her lungs with water.

"Kiran! Get her out of there!" Hoshi screamed terrified. The water bubble broke as the water pored into the drains. Mayu fell forwards towards the floor. Hoshi jumped forwards spinning herself around, making Mayu fall over her back and kept her from slamming her head to the floor. The hard push against her chest, by her lading over the wolf's back forced most of the water in her lungs up. Coffining to get the rest up, she hanged over the wolf's back.

"Mayu? You okey?" Hoshi asked carefully as Mayu pulled of her. She sat down of the floor and just curled together, holding around herself.

"It's not true.. It's not.." She whispered to herself starring into the floor mindlessly.

"Mayu?" Hoshi asked worried as she stood in front of her. Mayu did not even notice her, she just starred blankly at her paws and kept whispering.

"Mayu?" Hoshi asked, now really scared. Again she got no response.

"Forgive me.." Hoshi muttered moving up to her and then setting her fangs into her left overarm.

"OW!" Mayu screamed as she was ripped out of her mind's darkness. Hoshi pulled back quickly.

"You bit me!" Mayu cried holding around the arm as blood began to pipe out.

"I'm sorry. I had to..You weren't answering me.. I had to make you see whats real." Hoshi whimpered.

"Real?" Mayu asked looking confused at Hoshi.

_"You were pretty far gone there Mayu."_ Kiran agreed.

"What happened?" Hoshi asked worried. Seeing those blue eyes she knew so well, she for some reason desisted to tell everything. She had to tell someone or it felt like her head would blow if she did not.

Mayu started to tell what she did know and about her nightmare.

"As I was in there.. I was thinking about all the memories I do have.. Then all of a sudden it was like a voice spoke in my mind.. I could not understand her but suddenly all my memories seemed to change.. I was thinking about happy memories like being on board the Arcadia and suddenly every thing just turned horrible and.. and.. Harlock was the reason for for it, but I know that's not true. Harlock would never harm me.. and yet it felt so.. feels so real." Mayu began to cry.

"And that dream.. I can almost feel his blood on my hands." She cried and cried. Hoshi looked at her but said nothing, letting Mayu get all her worries out. She had been holding it in so long it was like a damn breaking when she finally let it out.

"What if I really did it? What if I have killed him?" she cried. Hoshi licked away Mayu's tears.

"You haven't. Harlock is alive and well. I would have felt it if Harlock was hurt. My father would have felt it. Mayu look at your arm." Hoshi said low and nudged her chin.

Mayu took away the hand holding around the wound after Hoshi's fangs. S stripe of blood had began to drip down her arm.

"That blood and the pain you feel is real. That dream... Those memories are not." Hoshi said strongly.

"Hoshi.. Thank you." Mayu said hugging the black female.

"I'm gonna stay with you the entire way, Mayu. You can count on it!" Hoshi barked proud. Mayu smiled for real as she let go.

"You know.. It really hurts." Mayu smiled and took around her arm again.

"sorry.." Hoshi smiled sheepishly making Kiran laugh.

The three ships arrived Rhine a few hours later.

"State your name and business here Pirates." A guard called them as they entered the atmosphere. Fritz smiled. How many times had they not been though this before on Rhine? He wondered silently.

"Captain Fritz Harlock of the Talon, Captain Franklin Harlock of the Death Shadow and Captain Mayu of Princess Mayu. We are here for some shore leave, we have traveled far and we have even further to go, so we need some time to rest our crews and resupply, while we wait for something we are gonna pick up from the three-nine." Fritz stated clearly.

"Granted. Just remember our laws pirates. You are free to do as you please but if you break any of our laws..." the guard began to say.

"We know.. You can punish us accordingly. We are not here to start trouble." Fritz stated, proving how many times he had been there.

"You can land in dock 8." The guard nodded and shut his screen of.

"Remember.. I went good for you now.. Make sure your crews don't make any trouble." Fritz said to Mayu and Little Harlock, and gave Little Harlock and Riki-ken a hard look. Said teens grinned.

"We got it." Little Harlock said with a smile.

"A planet were pirates are welcome. I never knew that existed." Mayu said surprised where she sat.

"There is only a few of them. Rhine was one of the first." Fritz smiled.

"How so?" Mayu asked as the ships went in for landing at the set docking bay.

"Long story short.. Harlock and the others saved this planet a few times so the king felt he owned them that much." Mizu grinned.

"Something like that." Fritz smiled.

A little later Mayu and Hoshi was walking down the market place of the capital. At first May had felt a little out of place, and wondered if she should not have taken a cape over her suit, but as no one really seemed to care, she relaxed a little. She noticed some men stare at her but as she looked back at them they tried to flirt with her. It was an odd feeling but she ignored it and them as best as she could, Hoshi growling low beside her.

As they walked down the busy streets, Hoshi was awestruck with all the sounds and smells of the buzzing market place.

Pirates were apparently a big market here at the salesmen called out to her, trying to sell her anything from silk to fruit and so on.

As they had left their ships Fritz had told them to do what they wanted for a while. He was gonna see and old friend about when the three-nine was to arrive. Little Harlock and his crew was almost gone as soon as Fritz were done talking. Mayu had agreed to Rowa to go out and getting what they needed on board the ship. Though she had been unsure at first to go on her own, there was something she really wanted to get for her ship.

Before their arrival, Mayu and Hoshi had wandered around, with Kiran as their guide and got to know their way around the ship. They had been resting afterwards in the ship's green room when they had arrived at Rhine. Mayu had loved the green room as it was much alike the green fields of her old home where she grew up, but she felt it was missing something, birds. So arriving at Rhine and finding she had the time, she wandered around the marketplace.

"Oh, listen!" Hoshi smiled, barking. Though Mayu could almost not hear it in the noise of the marketplace, she could hear birds singing.

"There. Finally." She smiled and pointed, seeing a small pet shop in a side street.

"Come on then!" Hoshi laughed and ran towards it. The shop was more like set of sheds more like a booth than a shop and it was filled with cages.

There were so many different birds in the store. The shop seemed to be focused on birds. There was mostly birds she had never seen before and there were so many of them. They rustled in feathers in all colors.

"Are you interested in some birds, miss pirate?" An old man stepped out from the back.

Mayu nodded as she continued to look.

"Well perhaps you would be interested in a Rhine Nighting gale?" The old man smiled and pointed to a large cage not far from her, where four large dark blue and purple birds sat. They had two long purple feathers going from their heads like the whiskers of a Asian dragon.

"They only sing when they are really happy, and this much depends on their masters, but when they do, they have the worlds sweetest and loveliest voices of the universe. They are one of the most popular birds I have. They are a bit of loners so they do well alone in a cage."

"I am not gonna have them in a cage.. I have a area where they can fly free." Mayu said not even looking at the man.

"Ah so you want some pretty flying birds? Well then I suggest some Titan swallows, they are though as a nail but fantasic to see in the air. The main sellers here.." The old main said and pointed out a cage with some fire red and orange birds.

"You have any earth birds? You know.. The common wild type?" She asked looking on.

"Well well now that's a request I don't hear to often. As a matter of fact I do." The old man said with a wide smile and pulled away a side wall and showed her into a side yard with even more cages.

"I got some swallows, some robins, I even got me a pair of Crows and seagulls. You don't see much of these on earth these days sadly. I am a bit in the sentimental mood when it comes to the these birds. No one seems to want these. Every one just want the exotic ones." The old man sighed and opened the crow's cage, letting the bird walk up his arm and up on his shoulder.

"Would you sell me some of these?" Mayu asked looking at him careful.

"For you my fellow earth bird lover, you can have any ones you want." The old man said with tears in his eyes.

Mayu picked out some swallows and robins ans a pair of cardinals and some others, the old man insisted on her taking five of the Titan swallows and one of the Rhine Nighting gales for free. He told her the Nighting gale would help her on her journey.

After arguing with him for a while about this, as Mayu wanted to pay of all of the birds at least her com went off.

"Mayu, little Harlock, come in." Fritz called calmly.

"Mayu here." She answer Hoshi whining next to her.

"I am here too." Little Harlock answered.

"Are you done with what you are doing?" Fritz asked.

"Almost." Mayu said feeling a poke of worry. Hoshi watched her with her head slightly tilted.

"Yeah were done." Little Harlock said and there was a hint of laughter in his voice.

"Good then finish up and met me by the Galaxy railways station. It wont be long before the Three-nine arrives." Fritz sated calmly.

"Okey we are on our way." Little Harlock said and shot of the com.

"I'll be right there.." Mayu said and shot of her com as well and placed it back in the belt. She was getting worried again. She was really nervous about meting this aunt of hers. She jumped when Hoshi stroked her head against her hand to calm her.

"Sounds like you have some where to be. Where should I send them?" The old man pointed to the prepared birdcages with her chosen birds.

"Oh.. eh.. Send them to docking bay 8. There will be a lady waiting for them." Mayu manged a smile looking at the birds.

"Sure thing. Oh and the Galaxy railways station is just down the street there." the old man smiled and pointed to the street.

"Oh thank you." Mayu smiled.

"No problem young miss, You take care." The old man smiled and went inside to arrange the transport of the bird cages.

Walking on down the street, she called Rowa to prepare for the cages arrival. She was glad to learn that all was ready for departure, should they have the need to travel against right away.

They found Fritz sitting on the stairs leading up to the station, with Silvereye sitting on the rail next to him and Mizu by his feet. The wolf's fur seemed to stand on all ends, like he had been rolling around or something.

"Here." Fritz said as they come up to him and threw her a soda can.

"You don't find much of these any more. They get rarer and rarer to find. Mostly only have them here." He smiled.

Fritz had been the last one to leave the docking bay.

Silvereye moved restless on his shoulder.

"Let's go." He smiled once Mayu had left. There was only one place he was heading to.

The castle in the capital where they were now.

Coming to the castle from the backside, they walked around towards the front yet stopped as they came to a small tree by the castle wall.

_"I know old friend."_ Silvereye chuckled remembering well what had happened there quite some years ago now.

They came to the front gates a few seconds later.

"Hold there, pirate. What is your business here at the castle?" The first of the guards asked tensed.

"Wow wait! Dont you know who that is? He is the king's old friend!" The second one called, to stop his friend from doing anything stupid. Fritz shared a little smile with Mizu that chuckled.

"You have to excuse my friend here. He is new to the guard duty." the second guard excused.

"No harm done, but I was hoping to have a meting with the king. Is he here?" Fritz asked calmly.

"Yes sir, he is here, Just go right in sir." The guard said and let Fritz in.

"Aaah Fritz-san. Good to see you. We were hoping you would stop by when we heard you and your new friends had arrived." A court master said glad as they came into the main rooms of the castle. Fritz nodded with a smile.

"I was hoping to get to talk to my old friend." He asked with a smile.

"And I am sure he will be delighted to see you again as well. Right now he is in a meting but it should be over soon. Go into the garden, my friend. He always go there right after a meeting like this, saying he has to cool of." The court master said with a smiled and noticed them to the yard.

Fritz and his two guardians made their way into the garden and sat down on one of the many benches. As Fritz sat there he admired the large garden yet found it surprising now how little it seemed compared to what he remembered it to be the first time he was there.

It did not take long before a young man his age came storming into the garden. Dressed in fine expensive cloths, golden hair waved as he rushed as far into the garden as he could. His whole body language spoke of how angry and upset he was. He cursed and almost yelled to the young sand brown wolf by his side.

"Those idiots! What does it take? The moons falling in their heads before they understand?"

"Sounds like you are having some trouble, old friend." Fritz smiled as he moved up behind him.

"Want us to keelhaul someone for you?" Mizu laughed.

_"You know we would do it too."_ Silvereye laughed as well.

"Fritz! When did you get here? It has been too long." The young King smiled, as he gave his old blood brother a hug.

"We arrived not long ago." Fritz smiled as the hug ended.

"And I was not informed. Had I known I would never have kept you waiting, my friends." He said glaring in the direction of the court master.

"And that is probably why he did not tell you." The brown wolf said raising an eye brow looking at his master.

"Having trouble my friend?" Fritz asked carefully. The young king sighed.

"Sort of... We been living good, being one of the planets to help pirates. It has been good business you can say.. but with the Great pirates disappearance.. People is growling restless. The ministers don't believe the Harlock's are coming back." The young King sighed and rested his head to the tree trunk they were now sitting under.

"I see.. It seems to be like that most places now." Fritz sighed as well.

"Have you had any luck my friend?" The young king asked worried. Fritz looked at him and there were a light in his eyes, a light the young king had not seen since his father's disappearance.

"Sort of.. that's one of the reasons we are here. The great Leader's vision came back a little. Enough to tell us that Maetel might know something." Fritz smiled.

"Really?" The young king beamed up.

"But if she knows.. Why haven't she told you before?" The wolf asked confused.

"We just learned something new. Something that puts it more into contents. Maetel probably never thought it were something like this." Mizu said calmly.

"I see. So what do you need of me?" The young king said, knowing they would be needing his help.

"We need to get on the three-nine while it's stationed here for the time it's here, so that we can talk to Maetel undisturbed." Fritz said.

"No problem. Just you three?" The king asked before calling the court master over to them.

"Actually.. No. You would not believe it but we ran into some new and old friends." Fritz smiled.

"Oh?" The young king said interested. Fritz told in short how he ran into Little Harlock and Mayu and what they had discovered.

"I will get the passes for you right away. You wait here." The court master said and left after Fritz where done telling their story.

"I wish I could come with you." The young King sighed.

"You are needed here, my friend." His wolf sighed low.

"Heh, since when did you become my consensus?" The young king laughed petting the wolf's head.

"Since you always seem to some times leave yours behind." The wolf grinned.

"Oy!" The king laughed insulted, making Fritz laugh out loud. The sand colored wolf took of, being chased by Mizu and Silvereye, that had shape shifted back, and soon all three wolfs where roiling around in the grass. Fritz and the young King laughed and enjoyed themselves for a while.

When the court master came back he handed the passes to Fritz. Fritz smiled as he took them.

"Thank you."

"Any time young pirate, I only hope this will help." The court master said.

"I hope so too." Fritz smiled as Silvereye returned to his shoulder and the other two came back their fur standing on all ends after their play fight.

"When is the three-nine arriving?" The king asked.

"They are to arrive in an hour. They are staying for only two hours as they have been delayed." The court master sighed. Fritz sighed and looked at his clock.

"Looks like you need to hurry." The king said.

"Looks that way." Fritz said silently.

"I hope you come by again before you leave?" The king smiled as he stood up.

"I'll try." Fritz said.

"Good luck, my friends" the king said with a smile.

"Thanks." Fritz smiled before he left.

As they exited the castle Fritz called up Mayu and Little Harlock. As they ended the conversation Fritz stopped only for a second to buy some soda cans at an old vender not far from the station. Sitting down at the steps he waited for the others to come.

Little Harlock and Riki-ken wandered around the city for some time, wandering while thinking about the stories their parents had told of Rhine and all the legends surrounding the place.

"I'm hungry..." Riki muttered after a while holding to his stomach as it rumbled.

"How about there?" Little Harlock pointed to a little bar at the corner where they stood.

"Sure!" Riki beamed up. The two boys and the two wolfs entered the bar and cast a quick look around. There were two groups of people in the bar. All of them looking like a though bunch and they glared angry towards them. Little harlock and Riki sat down at the table not far from the bar.

Riki stood up and went to the bar to order some food and drink for him and his friends. He grinned widely as they opened their drinks and shared a toast to finally having made it to the sea of stars. Tic and Tac lay beside them grinning for themselves, not believing they were really out there exploring like their father was.

As the food arrived Riki stood up to get it. As he walked over to the bar, Tac began to growl not liking the look of the group closest to them sent Riki.

Little Harlock let not that go unnoticed.

Then just as Riki walked past the group of tugs one of the tripped him. Riki had his hands full with the food fell forward, dropping the food trying to stop his fall.

Little Harlock stood up with Tic and Tac snaring beside him.

"Kids like you aren't welcome here."

"This is a grown ups bar."

"Why don't you run home to your mommy?" The men laughed down at Riki ignoring Little Harlock.

It was not until one of the men kicked poor Riki in the side while he was down that it snapped for Little Harlock. Walking strait over, the teenager gently tapped the man's shoulder and as he turned slammed his right hook right into the man's face. He went down like a sack of potatoes and the others turned around surprised. Little Harlock stood there with the two midnight colored wolfs flashing their fanges angry. The sight made the men hesitate slightly as if there was something familiar about him, but one of them shook it off quickly.

"What you wanna have a go kid?" He laughed. Little Harlock said nothing.

"Bastard!" The man growled not believing this kid was not intimidated by his size. Little Harlock was not intimidated at all, and it angered the man.

He was about to strike at Little Harlock when just as he shifted his weight to one foot, that foot was struck and thrown away under him, making him fall fall flat on his face. Little Harlock and the wolfs only stepping back a step. The man cursed as he got up on his knees and tuned around.

Riki sat there , the wooden stick hiding his katana in his amrs.

"Now we are even." Riki growled, pointing out that Riki had with out difficulty had noticed who had tripped him back then. The man roared angry and soon everyone in the bar joined in the bar brawl.

Little Harlock beating his way though a group of them.

Riki using his speed and small statue to dodge blows and broth the group of men into the other making them hit each other making the confusion complete.

Tic and Tac rushing around, snapping after heels and jumping those that got to close to little Harlock or Riki.

Soon after the brawl ended. Riki delivering his last kick to the last man standing, Little Harlock smiling as he went down and Tic and Tac chasing the last conscious guy of. The four teens looked one and another and broke into laughter.

Just then Little Harlock's com went of.

"Mayu, Little Harlock. come in." Fritz voice called..

"Mayu here." Mayu's voice cut in.

"I am here too." Little Harlock answered.

"Are you done with what you are doing?" Fritz asked.

"Almost." Came Mayu's answer. Little Harlock looked around to rampaged bar and the men laying unconscious around their feet.

"Yeah we're done." He said trying his best to keep the laughter back. Riki and the two wolfs chuckled to themselves.

"Good then finish up and met me by the Galaxy railways station. It wont be long before the Three-nine arrives." Fritz sated calmly.

"Okey we are on our way." Little Harlock said and shot of his com. He had to smile seeing Riki and already gone over to where the barkeeper was hiding.

"Got any food left?" He asked with a smile, looking at the shoked barkeeper.

"Take it to go Riki, we have to go." Little Harlock said pulling out a small bag of coin.

"Sorry about the mess, that should cover all of it." Little Harlock said setting it down in front of the barkeeper. Tic and Tac grinned at each other. As the four left the bar, the barkeeper had given Riki some bread and he was munching it down happy as they hurried towards the train station.

Mayu sat looking into the ground for a bit.

"What is she like?" She asked carefully and low.

"Who?" Hoshi asked carefully as she noticed Mayu's feelings.

"This Maetel?" she asked nervous.

"She is really nice." Hoshi smiled.

"She is a little hard to explain.." Fritz smiled.

_"She likes to be a little mysterious."_ Silvereye sent.

"But there is nothing intimidating with her, though she is the one you would want by your side in any pinch." Mizu smiled.

"And she knows pretty much anything there is to know about the space." Hoshi smiled.

"I see. " Mayu said unsure if she felt better or not.

"Here they come." Mizu smiled hearing Little Harlock and Riki coming. Yet as they came around the corner Fritz had to smile. Little Harlock's hair were ruffed up and Riki had bruises on his face.

"And what have you been doing?" Fritz asked looking at them with one brow raising.

"Just been at a bar to get some food." Little Harlock said a little uneasy.

"And taking down the bar tugs while you were at it I take it?" Hoshi laughed seeing the guilt full look that came over them both. It made Mayu laugh pretty hard.

"Well you are like your dads." Fritz smiled shaking his head.

Just then the sound of the three-nine's flute sounded and they could see the train coming.

"Ah, good." Fritz said standing up. Silvereye quickly taking to his shoulder once more. Little Harlock and Riki both grinned as Little Harlock tried to fix his hair to look a little more presentable.

_"You okey?"_ Hoshi sent private to Mayu alone. Though Mayu hid it well she could not hide her fear from Hoshi. They seemed to clicked so fast, but then again Mayu needed Hoshi, and Hoshi was more than willing to help. Mayu petted her head.

_"Yeah. Just nervous I guess. I never met Maetel before. What if she don't like me?"_

_"No worries. Maetel is nothing like that. She'll love you just like you are. After all you are her only niece."_ Hoshi smiled stroking her head to her hand.

"Ready?" Fritz asked handing her the pass to the train.

"Yeah." Mayu smiled, answering both Fritz and Hoshi.

"The pass only allows us to stay on board for the day the train is staying here." Fritz reminded them.

_"The three-nine usually stands on each planet for as long as one day on that planet is." _Silvereye said as they stepped into the station and making their way to the platform the three-nine was docking at.

"Meaning it varies for planet to planet. From 1 hour to months." Hoshi laughed gently. She had always wanted to see the train for herself.

"I wonder if Firefly is wish them today?" Mizu asked wondering.

"Firefly? Them?" Mayu asked confused.

"Firefly is Maetel guarding wolf, and with them we meant Maetel and her traveling companion Tetsuro." Fritz said with a smile.

"Been a while since we last saw them now." Riki smiled having missed them both.

"Yeah wonder how Tetsuro was been doing on his quest.." Little Harlock said thinking.

"You'll both have enough time to ask soon. Come on. They're waiting." Tac laughed and ran on ahead. Riki and Little Harlock following closely behind. Fritz sighed.

"It's been a long while indeed. We barly got word to them that the others were gone. Guess they are more than worried." He said looking worried, Mizu making a worried sound beside him.

"Aren't we all." Mayu said silently. Fritz nodded.

"Let's just hope Maetel can help us find them." Fritz said as they moved up to the train. Mayu was surprised to see the old stile of the train and it made her a little sad too, as it reminded her of her father. She was always told about how her father loved old machines. She could guess he loved the Three-nine.

"Fritz! Mayu! Over here!" Riki called waving for one of the many doors in the wagons.

"Guess they found them." Fritz smiled to Mayu as they made their way over and Riki vanished back into the wagon.

Fritz entered the wagon but Mayu hesitated for a second.

_"Come on Mayu. This is the only way to prove that the nightmare is just that, a nightmare." _Hoshi said low beside her. Mayu nodded.

"Yeah, unless we find them safe and sound I'll never get a descant night's sleep again." Mayu said and walked in though glad Hoshi stayed close. She found Fritz just sitting down. Silvereye resting on the back plate beside him. A young man, a little older than him, sat next to him. Riki and little Harlock sitting across from them. Mayu hesitated until a fire red wolf with two scars over cheek came over to them,

"Firefly!" Hoshi called glad greeting her.

"Hoshi, so you are here too." the wolf Firefly smiled.

"And who is this young lady?" She asked kindly looking to Mayu.

"This is my friend Mayu, Tochiro SR and Emeraldas daughter." Hoshi smiled Mayu felt a little of being called that. Yet what Hoshi had said made the man with Fritz react.

"Emeraldas daughter?" He asked standing up, looking at her.

"Yeah we met her at the Death Shadow island." Riki stated with a smile.

A lady dressed in black stood up from her seat next to the others. golden blond hair fell behind her back as a unusual pair of blue eyes met Mayu's. Mayu had been so dazzled by her appearance, she jumped feeling a hand suddenly touching her cheek.

"You look so much like your mother." Maetel said gently, calming her down just as soon.

"Maetel?" She stuttered out nervous and scared at the same time. Maetel nodded with sad eyes.

She lead Mayu to sit down across from her on the bench next to Fritz and Tetsuro. Hoshi sitting right in front to her.

"Last I saw you this close you were only a baby, just born. Emeraldas and Tochiro were so proud. After your father died and Harlock looked after you, I came to see how you where doing many times. Though I always stayed at a distance." Maetel said though showing no interest in telling why. Instead she shifted her focus over to Fritz and not wasting any moment to ask how the search for the others were going, but asked right away what they needed of her.

_"Is this what you meant with mysterious?"_ May asked Hoshi.

_"Pretty much."_ Hoshi smiled.

"Well as you know the Great leader of Luviji's sight has been blocked for the time dad, Harlock and the others have been missing. All they could tell us before was that we were missing a piece of the picture. As we then we met Mayu at the pirate Island, I realized she had to be that missing part. So we returned to the Wolf planet and true enough.. the Leader's vision did clear up a little. All they could tell us was that it had something to do with the old myth about the spider woman. Yet as far as we know it's just that, a myth." Fritz explained folding his heads resting his elbows on his knees and leaned forward.

"It's not." Maetel said calmly. "She is quite real and quite old. Her kind used to be slaves of the Gods of Vallhalla.. Before the gods made the pipe orals to keep them forever young, they used her kind's powers to keep them young and immortal. Her kind used to feed of the energy of nature but the Gods in an effort to control them changed that so they could only feed of the energy of a crystal the goods had. For centuries they slaved away for the gods keeping them young but as the gods discovered the magic on the pipe orals , the spider woman and her kind were forgotten and left to die as the gods had no more need for them. Hungry and lost her kind spread out into the universe in an effort to find something like the crystal, anything that could keep them alive. Years pasted and tired and hungry, the spider woman was about to die when she was met by some creature much alike her. The Weeping angels. Seeing how alike they were, they showed her how to feed of the time energy of others."

"Weeping angels?" Mayu asked confused.

"A particular nasty creature, that look like statues of weeping angels, hence the name.. They turn to stone if someone looks right at them but move in the blink of a eye if you look away." Fritz answered remembering the doctor once keep them of him when he was young. Mayu shivered.

"The weeping angels when they touch you, teleports you back in time and feeds of the energy of the life you never got to have. The spider woman how ever found that with her life per-longing powers could instead draw out the life of her victims and feed of them for a very long time. Having found the cure, she left to find the rest of her kind but found none. They had all died out, leaving her as the last of her kind. She could not even have her revenge over the gods as they had gone to sleep and the gates to Valhalla was shot forever.

Heartbroken and vengeful she locked herself away only merging to find new victims to feed on. She chooses mostly children as there is so much life to pre-long and feed of." Maetel told.

"I don't really see what this have to do with our fathers." Little Harlock said fearing this was another dead end.

"No.. this is the only thing that makes sense." Fritz said looking blankly into the floor.

"How so?" Tetsuro asked looking at his friend.

"Think about it. We been going about this all wrong. We been thinking our dads and the rest of the pirates have been the main target and the swordsmen was in a coma too keep them out of the way and not discover the trap.. but it makes much more sense when we think that the pirates were the bait to make her able to feed of the immortals. She is using the mental link between them to do so."

"And Mayu became the means to bait Harlock. That also explains why you aren't as old as you should be, as she must have pre-longed your life to feed of you." Riki said to Mayu.

Mayu on the other hand was not listening. After what Fritz said it broth out another repressed memory.

"Soon now Mayu. Soon I'll have them and then I'll never need any other humans to feed of, and it will be all thanks to you." The voice from before laughed and what frighted her the most was the fact that she felt so proud as the voice said that.

_"Mayu?" _Hoshi's mental voice cut in bringing her back.

_"I...I am okay."_ Mayu said though her hands were shaking. Hoshi pushed her head into her hands allowing her to hide her shaking in her fur.

"But I don't understand, If it was Hiko and the others she was after, why take Mayu? Why use her as bait?" Tic asked confused.

"probably it all started with Mayu. She was living at an orphanage, most likely she took Mayu believing no one would miss her. Yet learned about Harlock through her, and she must have found the Harlock will to survive most interesting. Remember Hiko has been hinting Harlock and the others may have gone beyond time and no longer aging." Fritz said low casting a look to Maetel looking sad where she sat. Mayu swallowed scared. It was her fault that all of this had happened. Hoshi nudging her hand having felt her master's fear and shame. Looking down at the young she-wolf Hoshi shook her head slowly.

_"It's not your fault. You were taken from your home"._ Hoshi said calmly. Mayu looked at Maetel. The older lady smiled friendly and nodded. Mayu felt a little better yet was not sure if Maetel had heard what Hoshi said.

"Well we need to find them and soon." Little Harlock said angry.

"Is there any way of getting into her realm?" Mayu asked carefully. More than ever she wanted to find them and most of all alive.

"All I know is that the gate way is near the horse head Nebula.. I believe the Tira kingdom build a observatory there not so long ago. Maybe they have seen how to get in.." Maetel said looking at Fritz. Fritz nodded. "That's true. I believe they can help us." He smiled to himself. he knew well the head of the observatory and if he had seen some thing, he would gladly help them.

"Are we off to the Tira outpost then?" Riki asked looking at Fritz. Fritz looked at Maetel and then Tesuro. It seemed like they had said everything they knew of it. He nodded.

"Yes I believe it's time."

"That witch is gonna regret ever putting her eyes on the Harlock clan." Little Harlock growled making Tic and Tac growl low flashing their fangs as well. Fritz stood up just as the speakes began to tell that the Three-nine was about to leave.

Tetsuro followed Frtiz and little Harlock out yet Maetel held Mayu back for a few secounds.

"You are much stronger than you think you are. You have much of your mother in you. Trust your heart and your instincts." Maetel said holding her hand at her shoulder.

"I will. Thank you." Mayu said nodding. Maetel let go but as Mayu walked out of the train her eyes looked sad and worried.

"Good luck." She muttered as Tetsuro came back in.

"So we know where to go at long last. Let's just hope we make it there in time." Fritz smiled as they left the station.

"If anything time seems to be something we have a lot of, if Maetel is right." mayu said low. Fritz nodded.

"Little Harlock, will it take long to gather your gather your crew?" Fritz asked knowing as soon as he sent word to his own crew they would be back at the ship under and hour tops.

"Should not take too long. An hour at the most. I told them not to wander to far of." The young pirate smiled having felt they would perhaps need to leave soon enough.

"My ship is all ready to go." Mayu said.

"Good then as soon as our ships are good to go, we'll take of." Fritz said leading the way back to the ships.

While Fitz and little Harlock was gathering their crews, Mayu was looking over her ship, with Hoshi right by her side. She has getting to know every part of her ship now. Having a feeling it would be important soon enough. As they completed their trip they ended up in the green room where the bird cages were placed. They were tied down so they would stay put at take of. The birds seemed calm and just resting. As Mayu stood there looking at them her eyes past over to the nighting gale. He seemed to just look back at her calmly. She had yet to hear it sing. She wondered what the old man had meant when he said it would help her.

_"Captain Fritz is calling for you. I believe we are ready for take off."_ Kiran stated calmly.

"we 'll be right up." Mayu said and left the birds and the green room to go to the bridge.

A few hours into the trip towards the Tira outpost Mayu had returned to the green room after eating. She had opened the birds cages and now was enjoying their songs and looking at them flying around. Oh how she had missed this. She lay in the grass resting her back to Hoshi's side that lay behind her.

Mayu began to understand why the old man had insisted on the Titan swallows. They where like fire tongues flashing over the green room's fake sky as they blazed past her in a vibrant set of orange and red colors.

Then the light began to fade. Mayu had asked Kiran if she could make a night and day passing so the birds could get some rest. Mayu knew it was getting late, Kiran had put the time on the day and night passing as to the night and day on the earth. The birds began to roost in the threes around them. Mary knew she needed to go to sleep soon but she did not want to, knowing the nightmare would return like it had for every night for the days since she had come back. Mayu looked at Hoshi as she seemed to be asleep already making Mayu smile a little. Hoshi had been been sleeping close to her bed every night and had been quick to wake her when the nightmare returned and listened as she talked about it, before sleeping right next to her in the bed. Her calm breathing and heart beat had calmed Mayu down enough to at least get a few hours rest. before Hoshi came on board Mayu had barley manged to get an hour tops. Mayu were so glad for her company. She began to really understand how much Lighting must have meant to Harlock. Thinking about her step father and the others she had put in danger put a horrible feeling in her gut and she grew restless and knew it was gonna be another sleepless night.

Just then a bird began to sing. The song it sang sounded so familiar yet she had never heard a song bird like it before. Hoshi raised her head of her paws looking around.

"What is that?"

"One of the birds. Though I am not sure witch one.." Mayu answered looking around.

"It's the Nighting gale." Hoshi said nodding to the bird sitting just two threes away from them, as Mayu looked at him the bird looked back and stared at her with it's intelligent blue eyes as it kept singing.

"What a strange song." Mayu said confused as to why it felt so familiar.

"It's wonderful." Hoshi sighed resting her head down again.

"It is." Mayu said leaning back and closing her eyes listening. "It makes me.. kinda..." Mayu began to say but it ended in a yawn.

"Yeah." Hoshi said dosing at her paws. Not long after both of them were sound asleep, resting to each other in the grass listing to the bird singing for them. The song lulling them into a much deeper sleep where no dreams could reach.

Rowa came in silently with a blanket she lay around Mayu some minutes later. As she came out of the green room Kiran sighed.

_"Thank you Rowa. It was about time she got a full night's rest. I fear they both are gonna need all their strength soon enough."_ Kiran said watching over them as they slept.


End file.
